I'll Always Be There To Catch You
by queenofthejourney
Summary: Best friends, Bella and Edward, haved loved each other ever since they were booger-picking elementary schoolers; neither one of them know it, though. '"Don't worry; I'll always be there to catch you." He answered simply.' AH. Canon couples.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there...umm yea! Well, this is my first story...I'm fairly new, so I would appreciate it if you don't completely bash my story if you don't like it. I do like criticism though...soo yea.**

**This is I'll Always Be There To Catch You!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, SM does...no matter how much I wish I did...):**

Bella's POV

"Edward?"

I half-sobbed, half-whisper yelled out of my window across to his room.

The Cullen's, Esme, Carlisle, and their 3 sons, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper, have lived right next to us for as long as I can remember.

My family, Renee, Charlie, and their 3 daughters, Me, Alice, and Rosalie, didn't mind much, seeing as how we were all best friends.

I, being the lucky one got the room that faced their house, and it just so happened that Edward got the room mine faced.

I'd always come to my window when I had a problem and we'd, Edward and I, would always go to our special place, the beach. The rhythm of the waves always seemed to calm me.

So, here I stand now, desperately calling Edward's name, seeking the guidance he always gave me.

"Edward?" I tried again, my voice cracking.

He didn't move. He was asleep. I could hear him lightly snoring.

Normally, I wouldn't wake him up, but I couldn't get through this alone. Sure I could get my sisters, but I didn't want them now. I wanted Edward.

So, I picked up the nearest object, my shoe, and threw it across the space dividing our houses.

I heard a muted "ow"; a couple of sheets moving, a thud, and finally his form appeared.

"Bella, what the-" He started, but stopped once he saw my tear-stained expression.

"Oh, Bella, what happened?" He questioned.

"Not here." I answered.

He nodded, and started to descend down the tree that was in the middle of our houses.

When I heard him hit the ground, I copied.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, we began running. We didn't stop until we reached our place.

I sank to the sand, and Edward mirrored me.

"Tell me." He pleaded, reaching for my hand.

I took a deep breath and began.

"Ok, so, I'm not exactly sure how it started, but at first Renee and Charlie were just talking, then they were yelling, then there was some stomping, and clanging, and then my dad stormed out of the house and drove away." Edward wiped a tear that was falling away.

"I ran downstairs to find my mom sobbing relentlessly, her head in her hands, and the house a mess. I couldn't stand it, and Rose and Alice had exiled themselves to their rooms, and the first person I thought of was you. So, I ran to get you, and here we sit." I finished, and as if I couldn't help it, I started to cry.

"Edward, I'm so scared. They've never fought like this before. Never. I don't want them to get a divorce. Not with 3 children. I don't wanna move away from you guys, you're like my family. I couldn't live." I sobbed into his chest.

"Shh, Bella, it's ok." He hushed me. "No one's going anywhere." He tried to soothe me.

"How do you know?" I questioned.

"Bella," He said. "Haven't they fought before?"

"Yea, but not this bad." I answered.

"It's only the first time. Things will get better." He assured.

"How could you know that? Your parents never fight!" I challenged, standing up.

"Bella, that's a lie. My parents, do too fight, they just love each other enough to make up."

"So, my parents don't love each other enough, so they won't make up?" I panicked.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." He stated calmly.

I stared at him for a long while, before finally calming down.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." He said, opening his arms to me.

I gladly sank back into them.

"Do you really think they'll make up?" I asked.

"Of course I do. They have to. What would I do if they took you away from me?"

"I see your point." I said. "Thanks, Edward. You're the best friend a girl could ever have."

"Don't thank me, it's my job." He said, while pulling me up.

I smiled.

He grabbed my hand, and we made our way back to the houses.

But of course, being me, I had to trip halfway back. Luckily, Edward caught me.

"Thank you, Edward." I said.

"Don't worry; I'll always be there to catch you." He answered simply.

**Well, hope you enjoyed...PLEASE REVIEW! That'd be great!**

**And I also wanna make this into a story, but I'm not sure...**

**Anywhooo, yea!**

**~TTP**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there!**

**I hope you enjoy my story...I do. And I'm gonna try to update ASAP, but you know life sometime gets in the way, so no promises.(:**

**A big thank you to my lovely beta, Sidney! (Sidney Loves Werewolves)**

**Anywho, READ ON!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight...I'm just maybe a little too obsessed with it...(:**

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Chapter 2

Bella's POV

_13 years old_

I woke up feeling refreshed, and ready for anything, but slightly disappointed and scared. Why, you ask? Well, it's my birthday. I had to hurry and get dressed and leave, I didn't want anyone going overboard, but I knew that was inevitable, but it was still worth a try. So, I jumped out of bed, and in my rush, I stubbed my toe on the end of it.

"OW!" I yelped.

I was hopping around, in an attempt to ease the pain.

"Bella?" I heard through the window. I hopped to it and saw Edward looking at me confusingly. We were still the best of friends, and we often still went to our "spot". "Are you alright?"

"I stubbed my toe on the end of my bed." I whined.

Though I'd hit it pretty hard, the pain was starting to subside.

Edward chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, happy birthday." He winked.

I playfully glared at him. He backed away, his hands held up in front of him as if someone were pointing a gun at him. He knew I hated when people gave me any kind of attention.

I grabbed my bag of toiletries and headed to take a shower. Once I was done, I waltzed back into my room, and searched for the perfect outfit. After all, I did have a boyfriend, now. I smiled. This is the only thing that would help me get through the day.

Jacob Black. Cue blush.

Jacob was very muscular, not as much as Emmett of course, but still decent. We'd been together since school started, so, roughly, about 4 weeks, give or take some days. He was in my Pre-Algebra and English classes. Now, he's not exactly the brightest crayon in the box, but he's really sweet. And, that's what counts, right?

Right.

But Jacob's been acting really distant lately, not in a mean way, though. No, Jacob could never be mean. In fact, I'm sure if we were to break up, we'd still remain close friends. Still, I wonder what's with his distance.

Well, I still would like to look nice for him and, dare I say it, my birthday. I was about to do something I knew I'd regret, but hey it pays to look "nice". I walked to my door, and cracked it.

"Al, Rose, come here for a sec!" I yelled through it.

I heard their shuffling feet, and then they appeared.

"Yes?" Rose asked.

Even though we were all sisters, we barely looked anything alike. I had mahogany colored hair, a fairly pale complexion, my eyes were a chocolaty brown, I stood at 5 feet exactly, and I think I look the most plain out of my sisters, though everyone would disagree. What do they know anyway?

Rosalie, on the other hand was very beautiful. Her blonde hair stopped just below her chest, her blue sapphire eyes sparkled with the happiness that she often had, and her body was well-built. Like I said, very beautiful. No wonder all the boys wanted her, but Alice and I happen to know that she had the hots for Emmett. She's the tallest of us at 5' 3".

Lastly, is Alice. She's very petite, standing at 4'8", in her 13 year old body, maybe she'll grow some more. I don't know how she got to be this short, though. Both of our parents are average height. I guess Alice got the recessive gene. Her hair's short, spiky and black. Again, I don't know how, our dad's hair is brown, and our mom's is blonde. Like I said recessive gene. Alice's eyes might be the only normal thing about her. They're blue, like our mom's, only I got the brown eyes. And she had a thing for Jasper.

Another thing is, their fashion sense surpassed mine greatly. I don't like to shop. At all. While my sisters did, just like our mother. I was like my dad, in more ways than one. I was quiet and reserved, while my sisters were loud and proud. Sure, they're crazy, but I loved them all the same.

"I need you guys to help me find something to wear to school." I answered.

I crossed my fingers, hoping I wouldn't have to wear something totally out of my comfort zone.

They zoomed into my closet, and started talking in some foreign language, well foreign to me. I don't speak "shopaholic".

"Oh, oh, oh!" I heard Alice exclaim. I rolled my eyes.

"What is it?" I sighed.

"Look what I found lurking in the back of your closet." She held up a pair of black skinny jeans. "Hmm, I wonder how they got there." She said, looking directly at me.

I shrugged. I knew exactly how they got there. I remembered the day Alice forced me into getting those. Mom had taken us shopping, and Alice and Rose dragged us into every store that was available. She'd come across these jeans in one of the first stores we went in, insisting that these would accentuate all the "right" things. I mean, are there wrong things? As soon as I got home, those jeans, and anything else they got me that I didn't like, was flung into the back of my closet, their new home, where they would stay…until today of course.

"Oh my goodness! I love those!" Rose squealed as she came out of the closet with the rest of the outfit. Alice looked at the top, and nodded. Then, they both turned to me.

"Ok, here's your outfit." Alice said.

They thrust the hangers toward me.

"Have fun!" They chimed as they walked out.

Oh jeez.

Did they really forget my birthday? Or were they finally giving me what I wanted? I know they planned something, they had to. I decided not to give too much thought into it, and instead I looked at what they had picked out.

Aside from the jeans that Alice picked out, Rose had picked out a dressy blue top. It was strapless with a little bit of beading in between the bust area. Eh, I guess it was ok…a little over the top.  
The only good thing was I got to pick out my own shoes, and I stuck with some blue flats with white polka dots. **(pics of outift on profile) **I curled my hair so that it came down in soft waves, and applied a little lip gloss and blue eye shadow. Alice and Rose would be proud of me. With a glance and nod at my appearance, I grabbed my backpack, and made my way downstairs.

I was half-way down the stairs, which led to the kitchen, and once I came into view, my whole family, plus the Cullen's were waiting for me.

"HAPPY BIRT—" They started, but were cut off by me tripping on the last step. Damn clumsiness.

I braced for the impact of the floor, but it never came. Instead, two arms wound their way around my waist. I looked up into the eyes of my savior, and wasn't surprised that it was Edward. His green eyes were mesmerizing. I couldn't look away. Something unidentifiable emotion was spinning in my stomach. I ignored it though.

"Thanks." I mumbled, blushing.

"I'll always catch you." He reminded. I nodded, and looked at everyone else.

"Way to make an entrance, Bells." Emmett boomed.

"Gee, thanks, Em."

I noticed a few people holding squares or rectangles that were wrapped in wrapping paper. No! I internally groaned.

"No guys! No presents!" I whined.

"Well, we already got you some, so suck it up!" Alice retorted, shoving what I presumed was her and Rose's present. I sighed, and made my way over to one of the stools at the island, and started unwrapping what was one of many gifts.

Alice and Rose had ended up getting me a really nice black trench-like coat **(pic on profile)**, and insisted that I wear it to school. I wanted to make them happy, so I obliged.

Emmett and Jasper got me a Dolce & Gabbana wallet, I don't know how they got it, though. Alice and Rose probably helped them. Figures.

Esme and Carlisle got me some lip gloss, or rather Alice and Rose some lip gloss, because I don't wear any, usually except for special occasions, like today. See how everything comes back to Alice and Rose even though it's my birthday. I really didn't care though, it takes some of the spotlight off of me.

Mom and Dad got me a laptop. It's really nice, though I'm sure it won't be getting much use out of me.

After I opened everyone else's gift, I turned to Edward. He said he'd give it to me later, and I nodded, not quite sure what he was up to. I looked over at the clock, then, and found that we'd be late for school if we didn't start walking. Yes, walking. We do, in fact walk to school. We take this deserted road, surrounded by trees. It's our little inside joke that someone's going to pop out and scare the life out of us, yet we still take it.

"Hey guys, we'd better going." I said.

They agreed, and I thanked everyone for their gifts, and we made our way to school.

I noticed Edward was pretty quiet all the way to school, so, as he walked me to first period, like he always did, I decided to ask him what was up.

"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something." He answered, coolly.

"I hope you're not worrying."

"Oh no. I was just wondering if…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish.

"If, what?" I pressed.

"If you wo—" He started, but was cut off by Jake calling my name.

"BELLA!" He called over the crowd. I waved him over, and then turned back to Edward.

"What was it you were gonna to say?" I asked.

"Nothing. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Yeah."

And he walked off. I hope whatever it is he was thinking about doesn't affect our relationship in any way. Jake had reached me by then, and was glaring daggers into Edward's back. They'd never liked each other. I didn't understand why though. Maybe it's a male thing.

"Happy Birthday, Bells." He said with a small smile. Then, he reached over, and gave me one of those awkward one-armed hugs. Yeah, him and his distance.

"Well, I gotta get to class. See ya later." He said, and walked off without giving me a chance to respond.

What a way to start off my day. I thought as I walked into first period.

The first four periods of my day were passing agonizingly slow. The classes that I had with Jake, were horrible. I mean, he'd sit with me, but he never spoke to me, other than the "hi''s he gave me when he first entered the classroom. Besides that, nothing. I was starting to get really irritated.

When it came to lunch, I just completely ignored him, and went to our group's table in the back of the cafeteria. They were already there, waiting for me. I slammed my lunch tray down, and forcefully sat in my chair.

"Whoa, Bells. Who's got your underwear all in a twist?" Emmett asked.

"It's Jake. He's been ignoring me all day. I mean, he said 'Happy Birthday' this morning but other than that barely anything. It's making me so very irritated!" I exclaimed, pulling at my hair. Edward grabbed my hand, and saved me from a major headache later. I sent a grateful smile his way.

"Want me to beat him up for you Bell?" Emmett asked, getting excited.

"NO!" I shouted. His face fell, and I slouched back in my chair, only taking the apple and water that was on my tray. I remained silent for the rest of the lunch hour, only reacting when Emmett asked,

"Are you gonna eat that?"

I simply shook my head. I really hoped this thing with Jake was going to get better. I mean, he was a good guy, but now looking over at Edward, I realized I didn't know what I wanted. I don't know where these feelings for Edward came from all of a sudden, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way. So, all I have to do is push these feelings down, way down, and try to work things out with Jacob. I was going to work things out with Jacob.

The bell rang just then, and I pushed away from the table, and threw my remnants away, making my way to class. The rest of the day was a blur, and before I knew it I was making my way to my locker. I turned the corner, only to find Jacob standing there, wearing a frown. That didn't surprise me.

"Hey." I breathed.

"Hi."

"So…" I trailed off not knowing where to start, but apparently he knew where to.

"Look, Bells. I think we should break up." He said. Well, so much for beating around the bush.

"But, why?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes.

"Well, I…foundsomeonenew." He rushed.

"Wait, what?" I choked.

He sighed. "Bella, don't get me wrong, you're beautiful, and smart, and funny and all. I just don't think you're the one."

"Jake, we're in the 8th grade, I'm pretty sure not one of these girls is the one." I said, the tears flowing freely now.

"Bella, don't make this harder than it needs to be." He said. "I really hope that we can be friends, Bella, I really do, but I don't think you really even like me."

"What?"

"I see the way you look at Edward, I really think you might have some kind of thing for him." He stated.

How does he know? I'm not even sure of it yet.

"Jake, I—"

"Bells, it's ok. I understand. Look, let's just be friends, ok? I've got to go now, Leah's waiting." He said, and then he started walking off, but stopped abruptly, and turned around.

"I hope you can meet Leah, she's really nice." He said.

I nodded. "See ya around, Jake."

"Of course, Bells." And with that, he walked away.

I turned to my locker, and stared at it for awhile, before realizing that the others would be waiting for me. I quickly cleaned myself up, and made my way to the front. Once I made it out, everyone was shooting me sympathetic glances as soon as they saw my face. I just shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. Edward held his hand out for me, and I gladly took it. Nobody said anything on the way home, aside from Emmett making a joke, trying to cheer me up. It didn't help though, no matter how hard he tried. I just wasn't in the mood.

"Hey Bells, you wanna go to our place?" Edward asked once we got to our houses.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Edward took one look at me, and threw me on his back. I didn't argue, I just went along with it. He jogged to the beach with me on his back the entire way there. Once we arrived, he gently set me on the sand, and gave me the "look". The 'we're-here-now-so-tell-me-or-else' look. I thought about protesting, but then realized that it would be a lost cause. So, I sucked up whatever was left of me, and began.

Edward was quiet throughout my whole rant, nodding and shaking his head all in the correct spots. Once I was done, I was crying all over again. He just held me until I calmed down. When I was through, I looked up at Edward, and he was staring out at the ocean. I couldn't see his green eyes, but I could imagine, and I knew, then and there, that I was falling for my best friend.

"I'm sorry I'm ruining your shirt." I said.

"Don't worry about it. That's what best friends are for." He said, his voice getting lower on "best friend". He stared at my face for awhile. "Are you ok?" He asked.

I nodded. "I think I'm all through."

"Well, in that case, I never gave you your birthday present." He said, and pulled out a small square with a bow on the top. I grabbed it, opened it, and gasped. Inside was the most beautiful diamond necklace I'd ever seen. It was shaped like a heart, and had diamonds embedded on it. **(pic on profile)**

"Edward, I can't take this it must've cost a fortune." I shoved it back at him.

"Bella, please take it for me. You don't want to hurt my feelings do you?" He asked, pouting at me. He's such a cheater. He knows I can't resist the pout! I wasn't giving in that easily, though.

"No." I stated, stubbornly.

"Bella," He sighed, turning the full force of his eyes on me. My resolve wavered.

"At least let me pay you back." I said.

His eyes started to tear up. Jeez, this guy should be an actor.

"Ugh, fine! I'll take the necklace." I gave in.

"Thanks, Bell." He said, taking it out.

"Can you put it on?" I asked. He nodded.

I turned around and lifted my hair. He placed the necklace on me, and clasped it, his hands lingering on my neck a little longer than necessary.

"Thanks Edward. It really is beautiful." I said, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

"No problem, Bella." He answered, and held his hand out to help me up. I took it, and we started walking back, then something struck me.

"Hey what were you thinking about earlier?" I asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out in the future." He smirked. "And hopefully you feel the same." Though I'm sure I wasn't supposed to hear the last part.

I really am falling for Edward. More than I should, and I'm glad I got over the first step, telling myself. Now I have to deal with step two, convincing the other.

Oh great.

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**Stay tuned for more of my awesome story...next week on I'll Always Be There To Catch You! lol(:**

**Please review...they make my day!**

**Anywho, yea!**

**~TTP**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello All!**

**Here we skip 3 years. Sorry about all the skipping, I just have to get to the plot, and get this story REALLY started. Plus, we have an Edward POV, well not all, but still most of it is in his POV. How exciting! Enjoy!**

**Thanks to my beta, Sidney!(: **

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *to Edward* I own you!**

**Edward: Uh, no you don't.**

**Me: Err, ok. *turns to Bella* Uh, I own you?**

**Bella: Not quite.**

**Me: UGH! *turns to Renesmee* Please tell me I own you?**

**Renesmee: Pssh, you so wish!**

**Me: Yeah, you're right. Ugh! Fine Stephenie owns Twilight.**

**Bella: There. Now, was that so hard?**

**Me: *glares at Bella***

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Chapter 3

**Edward's POV**

_16 years old_

Sickening, just purely sickening. That's the word I would use to describe my friends.

Alice and Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett. Sickening.

They finally got "together" when we were all about 15. Emmett, being the non-romantic person that he is, just flat out asked her, and Rose graciously accepted. Now, Jasper, being slightly more romantic, took Alice to her favorite store, pulled out a single rose, and asked her to be his girlfriend. She started jumping off the walls, resembling the pixie she was, and practically screeched to the whole mall that her and "Jazzypoo" were dating.

They're always together and doing couple-y things. It makes me just sick to see them like that.

What's worse is that they always put me and Bella together when they drag us to one of their "group dates". They know that I very well like Bella; I just don't think that she likes me, even though they keep reassuring me that she does. I refuse to believe that until she tells me face to face.

I've liked Bella since the first time we went to our "spot" together, at age 10, and since then, my like has blossomed into something more, a strong like some might say, maybe even love. Her face pops into my mind at all times of the day. I love to see her at our beach. The way her beautiful mahogany hair sways in the wind and her eyes sparkle with excitement and amusement just amazes me. She's one of the kindest people I've known, and she selfless as well. Oh, and not to mention the number of admirers that line up at her door step, but the flawless way she handles them is amazing. I completely adore her.

But, I am convinced that she sees me nothing more than her best friend. It saddens me every time one of her "admirers" comes up to her, but she turns them down. I wonder why.

As I pondered this, my friends in question walked through the door. They saw me seated on the couch moping, and they all situated themselves to "talk".

"Moping about Bella, are we Ed?" Emmett teased, pulling Rose onto his lap. I scowled.

"Shut up."

"I think it's cute." Alice chimed in from her place beside Jasper. "They like each other and—"

"She doesn't like me like that, Al." I interrupted, placing my head in my hands.

"Dude, are you blind?" Jasper said, shaking his head. "She's so in love with you."

"I'm not convinced." I answered.

"Ed, we're tired of seeing you like this. Just tell her, man." Emmett advised.

"I can't. If she rejects me, I wouldn't be able to go through that."

"She's n—"

"ALICE!" Rosalie interrupted her. Alice looked puzzled.

"What?" She asked.

"Ali, let's go talk outside…now." Rose suggested.

I looked over to Em and Jazz.

"What was that about?" I asked. They just shrugged.

I sighed, and went back to my moping.

**Alice's POV (AN sorry I don't like switching POV's in the middle of a chapter, it won't happen often...just when needed.)**

"Ali, let's go talk outside…now." Rose said.

I sighed, got up and made my way on to their front porch. Yes, we were over the boy's house, and yes, Bella didn't come because she's doing the exact same thing Lover Boy is, which is why I was trying to tell him that she wouldn't say 'no' to him, but Miss Bossy Pants wouldn't let me.

"What the hell, Rose?" I asked once we were outside. "Bella's in as much agony as he is."

"I know, Al. But, look, if we push it, he's not going to wanna do it that much more." She answered, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

She had me there. Record shows that if you push someone to do something, they weren't going to want to do it. That still didn't mean that I wanted my sister and one of my best friends to suffer when they so obviously needed each other. Ugh! This is all just a bunch of shit.

"Rose…" I whined. "We _have_ to do something. It's driving me crazy seeing them like this."

"I know." She replied, nodding her head. "But we have to let them figure it out on their own." She said and took my hand and led me back inside. I huffed in irritation, but followed without a fight.

**Edward's POV**

The girls came back in, while the Em and Jazz were playing of Guitar Hero on the Play Station 3. They were currently arguing about who won. Jasper actually did, but Emmett always has to make a big deal out of everything. Yeah, real mature.

"Hey, how about we watch a movie?" Rose asked, walking over to the PS3 and unplugging it.

"Hey!" Emmett whined, stomping over to the couch and plopping down on it.

"Yeah, let's watch a movie." Alice encouraged.

Jazz sighed.

"Fine."

Everyone turned to look at Emmett. He seemed to ponder what he wanted. Folding and unfolding his hands and placing his finger to his chin, as if to seem in deep thought.

Rose huffed. "Emmett, we don't have all day."

He was about to open his mouth to say something, but Rose stopped him.

"Say yes, or you won't see me for a whole week."

"Okay, fine." He said, crossing his arms.

I chuckled.

"Count me out." I said, standing up and making my way to my room, the one right across from Bella's.

I stopped dead in my tracks. What if she was there? What would I say to her? I hadn't exactly been distant lately, but I wasn't all myself. What if she's mad at me? Why didn't she come over with the others? I stepped to the closest wall, which just so happened to be right by the steps, and slumped down. I didn't want to lose my best friend, but also didn't want to be faced with telling my best friend that I had feelings for her. I sighed and grabbed at my hair. I chuckled. Bella always did that, I guess I picked up on it. I sighed. Bella.

Wait. Why am I being such a wuss? This is Bella we're talking about. My best friend. I shouldn't be afraid to talk to her, I should be confiding in her. I stood up, with all the confidence I could muster, and made my way to my room.

Not surprisingly, she was there, reading her old tattered copy of _Romeo and Juliet_. I smiled at her and her love for classics.

I walked over to my window, and pulled it open. Luckily hers was open as well, so I just spoke through mine.

"Hey Bells." I said.

She looked up, momentarily dazed by being brought back to the real world. I guess she really gets into those books.

"Oh, hey Edward." She replied.

"I have a problem, mind if I come over?" I asked.

"No, of course not."

I nodded, and started to make my way to the tree that divided our houses. Of course I could've gone through the front door, but I didn't feel like facing the Ferocious Four. I lithely slid through her window, and sat down at her desk. She slid to the end of her bed, and waited.

"What's up?" She asked.

For a second, I considered telling her how I felt, but chickened out.

This was so unlike me. Edward Anthony Cullen was _not_ a wimp.

_But around Bella you are._ A voice in the back of my mind said. I sighed. That voice was right.

_Well, here goes nothing._

"Ok, so there's this girl—"

"Shall we call her 'Jane'?" She suggested. I smiled; delighted that she was going along with it.

"Jane. Well, I have a friend—"

"Joe." She announced suddenly.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"Let's call him 'Joe'." She said.

Wow.

"Ok, so, my friend _Joe_ has a crush on _Jane_, and Joe really wants to tell her, but he's afraid she doesn't feel the same, and he can't face it if Jane rejects him." I said.

She thought for a second, tapping her index finger onto her chin. If the situation weren't about her, I would've laughed, but this was about her, and it wasn't remotely funny.

"Well, it's simple. Joe needs to just suck it up, grow some balls, and tell Jane how he feels. He shouldn't bottle those feelings up, that's rather unhealthy." She said, finishing very much like a psychiatrist.

I chuckled.

"But you don't understand, Bella. Joe can't just tell her. He's been bottling these feelings up for quite some time, and he's gotten so used to treating her like his friend, that he can't just spring this on her. He's worried about their friendship." I retorted, standing up and pacing.

"Buuuuut," She dragged the word out, making it longer. "I bet Joe's going crazy not telling her, therefore, I am correct in him needing to tell Jane."

I sighed. She would never give up.

"Edward, I know you're Joe." She said unexpectingly, standing up and stopping my pacing by placing a finger on my chest.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Mhm. So, who's the lucky gal?" She asked.

"Well—" I started, but was interrupted by Alice and Rosalie walking into the house, and I didn't feel like getting chewed out by the Nagging Queens.

"Gotta go, Bellsy." I said, using the nickname from when we were 5. "Thanks." I said as I was making my way over to my room, by way of tree.

When I made it to my room, I plopped onto my bed, landing face down onto my pillows.

"Ugh!" I groaned.

Why couldn't I just tell her? It would surely make my life much easier, having her know. She was absolutely correct; having these feelings bottled up was driving me insane. I have to tell her, soon. Tomorrow. It was a Monday. That way if she reciprocated those feelings, I could have her on my arm all week, and show this small town that she was mine.

It was already pretty late, and before I was "moping" as Emmett called it, I'd eaten pizza, so I changed into my usual night wear, green flannel pajama pants, and no shirt. It got pretty hot at night, so I always opted to sleep without a shirt. I turned off my light, and climbed into bed, all the while thinking about the upcoming event.

Me finally telling Bella.

I awoke groggily, from tossing and turning all night. Altogether, I managed about 6 hours of sleep, which is good considering on past days I'd only get 3 or 4 hours. I wiped my eyes, and got out of bed, grabbing a towel, and making my way to the shower.

When I was done, I sauntered back into my room, and searched for a presentable outfit.

I found a green dress shirt, I knew Bella loved green on me, she said it looked pretty with my eyes, a black undershirt, some nice jeans, and I wore my black converse. I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows, and left the shirt unbuttoned to make it look less dressy.

I grabbed my bag, made my way downstairs, and grabbed a granola bar on the go. Emmett and Jazz were probably over the girl's house, we still all walk to school.

I walked over, and let myself in. Sure enough, everyone was in the kitchen; everyone except Bella. My face fell. I sighed. I still had to put on a charade.

"Good morning." I greeted everyone as I walked in.

"Whoa, stud muffin." Rose commented. I just rolled my eyes.

"What's with the fancy clothes?" Alice asked, jabbing a finger in my direction.

"Can't a guy look nice for school?" I asked, rhetorically.

"No." Emmett answered anyway.

"Where's Bella?" I sighed, not feeling like dealing with Emmett.

"Of course you're only worried about her." Rose said. "Jacob picked her up."

My heart clenched at the mention of his name. I knew about the break up, and I also knew that they remained good friends and didn't intend on becoming more, but it still broke my heart to see her with him. I suppose that's selfish of me, but I really didn't like this Jacob kid.

"Ed, it's ok, they always hang out." Emmett said, noticing my reluctance.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go to school." I answered.

I walked out of the house and waited on the porch, nibbling on my granola bar ever so often. How was I gonna tell her now? I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. The others emerged from the house, holding hands with their significant others. I sighed. When were Bella and I gonna have that? Maybe if she hadn't ridden to school with the mutt, I'd have a chance to tell her. I was moping about that all the way to school.

"Cheer up, Eddie." Emmett tried to help. "At least they're not going out."

Well, he had a point there.

I sighed yet again. It seemed like I was doing that a lot today.

"Yeah, I guess." I said as I made my way to my locker, which conveniently was right next to Bella's. Maybe I'd catch her there.

I rounded the corner, and all those thoughts got pushed from my head. I gaped at what I saw as my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Bella was backed up against her locker, as Jacob Black leaned toward her and caressed her cheek lovingly. I watched as he pulled her into a hug, and ever so slightly pulled back to gaze in her eyes. I knew what was coming next. A kiss. I couldn't watch, so I stormed away, back to the parking lot, where I'm sure my friends were still waiting.

I was so hurt and mad. How could she? Didn't she say that their friendship was strictly platonic? My head spun, and I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach. I wanted to run home and hide under my bed, away from all these feelings. Away from Jacob freaking Black. And most importantly, away from Bella Swan. I was about to take off toward home, when Tanya Denali, the school's slut, decided to pay me a visit.

"Hello Eddie dear." She sneered in that all too familiar nasally voice.

"Tanya." I answered curtly.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

What the hell? How could she see that? Was it that obvious? I sighed. Agh! Again with the sighs.

"What do you want, Tanya?" I asked.

"I just wanted to know, Eddiepoo, if you would like to go out with me?"

I started to say "Hell no, and don't ever ask me again." When a sudden path occurred to me. If Bella wanted to "hang out" with her Jacob friend, then don't I get to "hang out" with someone? I mean, it's not like we were anything more than best friends. I sighed at what I was about to do. My friends would be furious with me, but they didn't know the pain I was feeling. They'd get over it as time went by.

"You know what, Tanya?" I said. "Sure."

"Really?" She gasped, her eyes growing large.

"Yeah." I sighed, looking down.

She squealed.

I covered my ears. Wow, she had a set of lungs on her.

Was I gonna have to get used to that damn scream?

She looped her arm through mine, and started talking at high speed about nobody other than herself, and when she did talk about someone else, she was degrading them. What a bitch! Well, I guess I was gonna have to get used to it.

I risked a glance back at my friends.

They were livid. Alice and Rose were fuming, and Emmett and Jasper were just shaking their heads. I hoped they didn't hate me too much. I turned back toward the school, and Tanya and I walked past my locker, where Bella stood, Jacob-less. I wondered where he was. She turned at our approach, and when she spotted Tanya's arm through mine, sadness over took her frame. I shook my head. Was she faking? I turned, once again, to the front and walked Tanya to her first class.

And for what felt like the thousandth time today, I sighed.

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**Well, that's that chapter. Hope I didn't disappoint!**

**Hope you review!**

**OH! And please go read and REVIEW _Romeo's Vice _by_ Kayo-Chann. _The story is AWESOME! It's not an ExB story, sorry. It's her own character and Jasper, and takes place at the time the Cullen's left, all in all I LOVE the story, but I am currently the only reviewer, so check it out!**

**See ya next chapter!**

**~TTP**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello!**

**Ok, I have nothing to say really, but enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Pssh, I SO own Twilight.**

**Emmett: You do, huh?**

**Me: Yup.**

**Emmett: *stalks toward me* you sure about that? *flexes muscles***

**Me: *gulp* Maybe?**

**Emmett: Come on, say it…**

**Me: Jeez dude, FINE! I don't own freakin Twilight, or the big, muscle-y, handsome, sparkly, funny….**

**Emmett: *to himself* She's creepy.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Bella's POV

_16 years old_

_We were lying down on the grass, in this beautiful meadow. It was in a circular pattern, surrounded by trees. Flowers were everywhere. Calla lilies and daisies. _He_ picked up one and handed it to me, like the gentlemen he is. He tucked a strand of hair that was blowing in the wind behind my ear, and grabbed my hand. Pulling me to his chest, he started humming a familiar tune. My lullaby. The one he wrote for me when we were 13. I could feel tears starting to roll down my cheeks and onto his shirt._

"_Why are you crying?" He asked, bewildered, rubbing his hand up and down my arm._

"_You're just too good for me." I answered truthfully._

_He laughed that silvery laugh that he has and shook his head._

"_I think you have that backwards." He said simply, touching the tip of his index finger lightly to my nose. "_You _are too good for me."_

_I scoffed. There was no way in hell that I would be too good for him. He's like a Greek God. Perfect at everything he does, and flawlessly beautiful. Though he always tells me that he's flawed many times, I don't ever believe him. He's perfect in my eyes._

_He tilted my chin up to his face, and stared into my eyes with so much intensity, that if he hadn't been holding me, I'm sure I would've collapsed. His eyes held an emotion that even I couldn't have misplaced. He looked lovingly down at me, and his lips parted as if to say something. _

"_Bella, I—"_

BUUUUUUZZZZZZZ!

Damn alarm.

I reached out, blindly, to turn off the wretched thing, but I couldn't see. My hand was uselessly reaching for it, and I went too far, resulting in me falling off the bed with a big, "Oof!"

Why did I have to wake up from this perfect dream? Was he going to say he loved me…finally? Ugh! How frustrated can a girl get?

Waking up for me is inevitable, even when you're having one of those amazing dreams. The ones where you're with the one you love, and they're just about to tell you that they love you when…

BAM!

You wake up. Sucks right? _I _should know.

I looked around, momentarily dazed. Ugh! Time for another day at school, with friends, and, dare I say it, Tanya.

I balked at the name.

That slut just had to steal _my_ Edward away from me.

They'd been together for about 2 weeks now, and eveytime I saw them together I fought back the urge to vomit. She sickens me.

The worst part is that ever since her and Edward have been together, Edward and I have grown apart. He'd try and spend as much time with her as possible, even if it meant ignoring his friends and family.

I'd tried to talk to him about it once.

_-Flashback-_

_I was on my way to class, alone for once, somebody usually walked with me, but today, they were all with their respected ones. I spotted Edward standing by our lockers, Tanya-less. I smiled. I'd been trying to catch him alone for the longest time, but he was always with _her_. I bounced over to him, hoping to get to talk to him. His back was to me, and he seemed to be rummaging through his locker for something, totally engrossed in finding it. This was my chance. I snuck up behind him, and poked his sides._

_"Hey stanger." I whispered as he jumped._

_"Oh, Bella, you scared me." He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. I wonder if it was stress induced, if so, then I'm sure I would know the cause._

_I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right."_

_"You did."_

_"Anyway, I was wondering if I could talk to you." I asked, praying to God he would say yes._

_"Yeah, sure. What's up?" He answered. I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone up there must love me._

_"Well, it's about Tanya...and you." I started. His eyes narrowed, and he closed his locker, forgetting all about the object he was supposed to be looking for._

_"What about us?" He quipped._

_"Well, I was just wondering, why, after years of being disgusted and pursued by her, you would all of a sudden give in to her ways, and be with her. I mean, really, Edward? Tanya of all people? You could've done so much better than her, and yet you're still with her, unhappy. Everyone around here knows you don't care for her, so I was just wondering, why?"_

_He started pulling at his hair, and leaned up against his locker, contemplating his answer. With each passing second, my patience was growing thinner, and I started pacing, not even noticing that the hallways were emptying and that the bell had rung. My only focus was to get this answer from Edward. I stared at him, as he was coming up with an answer, when, suddenly, a look of intuition passed through his eyes, and anger built up in him. He stepped away from his locker, and moved toward me. I stopped pacing, and gawked._

_"If you must know why, go blame it on your filthy boyfriend." He sneered._

_I was taken aback. Edward had never used this kind of tone with me, and quite frankly, I was scared shitless. Scared for our friendship, and my well being. But, boyfriend? What did he mean boyfriend? I'd never had another boyfriend since Jacob._

_"Boyfriend?" I asked, dumbstruck._

_"Yes, your little Jacob. I saw you and him at the lockers last week." He said, with a faraway look in his eyes. My heart ached for the pain that shown in them._

_"Edward, you don't understand-"_

_"I understand enough." He said, cutting me off, his tone harsh. "And if you wanna be with _Jacob,_" He sneered the name. "Then I can be with whoever the hell I want." And with that, he stomped off._

_-End Flashback-_

That was a week ago, and after that, we barely talked.

I missed my best friend, but I'm pretty sure that we weren't going to go back to the way things were until Tanya was out of the picture.

And Jacob.

The thing that Edward didn't understand was that Jacob and I were never anything more than friends after we had broken up all those years ago. He has a girlfriend, Leah, who I had come to be good friends with, and he was telling me about how he had these feelings of love and compassion toward her. He had trouble trying to portraying those feelings, and me being the good friend I am offered to help.

_-Flashback-_

_I was walking into school with Jacob, not really listening to whatever he was saying. My thoughts were completely consumed by Edward. When he had come to me yesterday about his "problem", I knew he was this "Joe", but I only needed to figure out who this "Jane" was so I could kill her. She wasn't going to take away my Edward. Was it Jessica Stanley? Ew. Lauren Mallory? God, I hope not. Laura Sheffield? She was new, but I didn't know if Edward liked her or not. He's been distant lately, up until last night when he came to me. I'd have to talk to him about—_

_I was interrupted when I felt Jacob's hand on my shoulder, and I realized that he had just saved me from running into a locker. I turned to thank him, but was surprised to see the look upon his face. He looked nervous, weak, and vulnerable. I shuddered at the look of fear in his eyes._

"_Jake, what's wrong?" I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder._

"_I have this problem." He started, wringing his hands. Gosh, am I the advice columnist?_

"_What is it?" I sighed._

"_Well, I-I-I think I may love Leah." He rushed, brushing his hands on his pants._

"_Jacob! That's great! Why're you so sullen-looking?"_

"_Well, because, I don't exactly know how to tell or show her." He confessed leaning up against the lockers._

_I startled him by laughing._

"_Bells, this is not funny in any way." He fumed._

"_Calm down, Jake." I wheezed. "I was only laughing because that's not that big a deal."_

"_How so?" He questioned._

"_Well, just be romantic." I advised._

"_Umm, yeah Bells, I don't really know how to."_

"_Seriously Jake? How've you made it this far?" I asked, shaking my head._

_He shrugged._

"_Ok, well, would you like to practice on me?" Wow. What am I doing? I must be a really good friend. _

_His face lit up. "Really Bells? You'd let me do that?"_

"_Yeah, as long as you don't go too far." I warned._

_He nodded furiously._

"_Well…" I said impatiently, tapping my toe on the linoleum._

"_Ok, umm…" He stammered. I backed up against my locker, and waited._

_Finally he came up with something. I watched as he slowly, hesitantly, reached his hand toward my cheek to caress it lovingly, and then, he pulled me into a hug, and pulled back to gaze into my eyes. We stood like that for a few seconds, and then I started clapping._

"_Jake! You did it! You were being romantic!" I congratulated._

"_Bells! Thanks!" He said, spinning me around in a circle._

"_I knew you had it in you." I said when he set me down. "Now go get her." I winked._

_He strode away proudly. I sighed as he made his way over to Leah. At least one of us had found love. _

_I turned around to my locker, and started to get all of my books for the day out. Where were Edward and the gang? I knew Jake and I were early, but we weren't that early were we? I shook it off, and returned to getting my books out. I was almost done when I heard the sound of Tanya Denali's nasal voice down the hall. I turned around to see who her new sucker was, and was immensely surprised to find Edward on her arm. His eyes met mine, and sadness overtook me. Something was burning behind his eyes, was it, accusation? Whatever it was, he turned away from me, and kept walking with that whore. To say that I was incredibly disappointed was an understatement. I turned back to my locker, slammed it shut, and ran out of the school._

_-End Flashback-_

Alice and Rosalie were ready to kill. Emmett and Jasper had to literally hold them both back from going on a murdering spree. Yeah, not pretty.

Maybe if I could just get Edward to listen to my side of the story…

I sighed as I got up and walked into the bathroom to start my morning ritual.

When I came out all clean, I pranced back into my room to change into my clothes for school. When I was done, I couldn't help myself from peeking into his window. He wasn't there, of course. He was either downstairs, or he'd picked up the whore for school. Luck wasn't on my side today, so it was probably the latter one.

I was running a little late, so when I got downstairs, everyone was there; everyone except Edward. Of course.

"Morning." I greeted everyone.

They all grunted in response. Ah, the glory of Mondays.

I walked into the pantry to get an apple.

"Is he picking up _her _again?" I sneered as I was walking out.

"Yes." Alice sighed from the bar stool by the island.

"Of course." I muttered sarcastically under my breath.

"Bells, let me just beat her up one good time—" Rose started.

"No Rose," I cut her off. "That's exactly what she wants, a reaction from us, and we're not going to give her that, so let's just drop it, Ok?"

She huffed. "Fine, but if that bitch makes one wrong move, she's going down."

I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just go to school." I said, walking over to the door and opening it. "Shall we?" I asked, gesturing outside.

They all just shook their heads, and we made our way out to the cars. We didn't feel like walking today. I rode with Alice and Jasper, not wanting to be subjected to Rose and Em's, ahem, ferociousness. I mentally shuddered. They could really get carried away at times, which is why I usually hung with Alice and Jazz, their PDA level was not as high as theirs. We pulled up to the school way before Em and Rose did. They probably made an extra stop. Cue shudder. I got out, and leaned up against the car. Alice came and stood beside me, with Jasper beside her. As I was studying the parking lot, I came across Edward and Tanya walking hand in hand. Edward's face held a grimace, while Tanya's was one of sheer arrogance. Dumb bitch.

"I don't get it." I said to Alice, tilting my head to the side.

"Don't get what, Bells?" She asked back, turning toward me.

"I don't get why Edward's with her if he's only miserable. It seems oddly out of character for him, and quite frankly, it's annoying the hell out of me." I said, eyeing the subject of our conversation intently.

He seemed to not notice Alice, or me, or even his own brother. What is his problem?

"At home, he locks himself in his room, and only comes out when needed." Jasper spoke up.

"Yeah, well, he keeps his curtains close, so I'm just as clueless as everyone." I answered.

"I'll try and talk to him." He concluded.

"Thanks Jazz. You have no clue how much that means to me." I said, sincerely.

He just shrugged. Always the indifferent one.

"Well, guys. I'm gonna head to class. See ya at lunch." I waved, and trotted for history, praying that I didn't pass Edward and Tanya.

I made it to class without any qualms, and plopped onto my seat. I was a little early, so I grabbed my _Wuthering Heights_ book, and got lost in the story. All too soon, though, people started entering, so I put my book away, and waited for the start of yet another boring day.

All my morning classes dragged on endlessly, each teacher going on and on about nothing. It drove me crazy to no end. Finally, lunch came, and I gathered up with my friends, as we all found a table outside. It was a relatively sunny day for Forks; might as well enjoy it. We all sat down, and started talking about nothing in particular.

"Oh My Jasper!" Alice gasped, looking up from the salad that she had been devouring.

"Ali, what'd we tell you about that?" I asked, incredulously.

"Sorry," She said sheepishly. "But, you know how I get when I have those 'feelings'."

I rolled my eyes. Alice always gets these "feelings" that something was going to happen, whether it's good or bad, the world may never know. It wasn't often that she had these feelings; maybe she had some sort of premonition. I never went along with it, and whenever something happened that she says would happen, I think it merely a coincidence.

"Well, do you know if it's good or bad this time?" I asked, humoring her.

"I don't know, Bella, but I do know who it's gonna happen to."

"Who?" I asked, curious.

"You."

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**Hope you enjoyed...and please review...really it only takes like 10 seconds...even if your review just says, "Great story!" It's greatly appreciated. Now, I will not be one of those authors that are like, if you don't review...I won't finish the chapter, I think that's cruel, I'm just saying that reviews really are the highlight of my day...Ok, so I'm gonna stop rambling now, aaaannnnndddddd see you next chapter!(:**

**~TTP**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well hello my honorable readers! So, enjoy this chapter, because I said so…Naw, just kidding but…READ ON!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own…never will…*sigh***

* * *

**Bella's POV**

_16 years old_

Me? Ok, now that's just freaky. I scoffed.

"No way." I concluded.

"Believe me Bella, it's gonna happen to you, and you know my 'feelings' are always correct, coincidence or not." Alice declared.

"You're just crazy." I shook my head and gathered my trash. "Well, the bell's gonna ring, so I'm gonna make my way to class." I stood up, smoothed down my hair, and strode off.

"Wait Bella!" Alice shouted suddenly, standing up on the bench.

I stopped, and reluctantly turned around.

"Yes?" I asked impatiently. I didn't want to hear any more about her psycho feelings.

"Watch your back." She warned, looking one hundred percent serious.

"O…kay?" I made it sound like a question.

She nodded, and sat back down.

I shook my head, and walked off to my biology class. The one class I had with Edward. We'd always sit together, and make wise cracks at Mr. Molina, but lately he'd taken to sitting with Tanya. I'm pretty sure that Tanya had changed her whole schedule just to fit Edward's. I bet Edward was just jumping with glee. When I reached the classroom, I took my usual seat, and since Edward had been sitting with Tanya, I was stuck with the vile Michael Newton. I hesitantly sat down, and kept forward, not wanting to speak with him in any way.

"Afternoon." He said in a chipper voice. Why won't he just leave me alone?

I gave a nod in his direction to acknowledge him. He huffed, and crossed his arms. I grinned; maybe he'd leave me alone now…yeah, in what universe?

"So, Bella," He began, ignoring my rudeness from earlier. "What's new?"

I shuddered. Why is he talking to me again?

"Look, Mike, I'd really appreciate it if you just left me alone today. I'm not really in the mood to deal with your crap. So just keep your trap shut, and we won't have any problems." I warned, and for what I hoped was the last time, I turned to the front.

Before Mr. Molina came in, Edward came rushing into the classroom, with what I thought was a satisfied look on his face. He practically skipped to his desk, and plopped down, all the while looking as if he were about to break into song like one of those cheesy Disney movies. What has gotten into him? For the rest of the class period, I sat thinking, and thankfully, Tanya never showed. I wonder what's with her. Mike had taken my threat seriously, and didn't utter a word to me the whole period. I wasn't quiet the whole time though. While I was off in one of my daydreams, Mr. Molina called me to answer a question I hadn't heard. I stuttered and fidgeted, until Edward very smoothly "coughed" out the answer. I turned slightly to maybe thank him, but he wasn't even looking at me. I groaned and faced forward, yet again, wondering, why all of a sudden Edward decided to acknowledge my presence, when for the past couple of weeks he'd acted like I didn't exist. When the bell rang, Edward sprang out of his seat, as if he really wanted to go to his next class. I sat there dazed for a minute, until I broke out of it, grabbed my stuff, and headed for English.

As I was approaching the classroom, I felt someone grab my shoulder, and pull me into the janitor's closet. My first instinct was to scream, but for some reason, I didn't. I backed up against one of the shelves, and tried to decipher who could've possibly done this to me.

The light flickered on, and I gasped at who I saw.

It was Edward.

He was standing there in all his glory.

"What the hell, Edward?" I gasped out, clutching at my chest.

"Did I scare you?" He smirked, raising his right eyebrow.

I decided to ignore the question. "Would you mind telling me why you pulled me into a _janitor's closet_?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He informed, running a hand through his hair.

"And you thought scaring the hell outta me was the best way to go? Well congratulations Edward, you won. What do you want? A handclap? Or better yet, a stuffed animal." I retorted in the most sarcastic tone I could come up with.

He frowned. "I don't remember you this angry."

"Well, maybe if you'd have spent time with me, I wouldn't be this angry." I muttered, gazing furiously at him as he stared uncondescendingly back.

"Oh, so this is my fault now?" He asked, appalled.

"I never said that, but if you wanna make your own accusations, be my guest." I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

We were silent for a while, until I realized that we were exceptionally late for class.

"I've got to go—" I started.

"Wait Bella," He pleaded, and grabbed my wrist as it was reaching for the door handle.

"What?" I asked annoyance prominent on my face.

"I broke up with Tanya." He muttered bluntly, letting go of my hand, and placing his in his pockets.

I froze. So that was why she never showed up to class. She was probably too humiliated to show her face. I turned back to him, momentarily forgetting that we would probably get detention for our tardiness. I simply didn't care at the moment. I struggled for a response.

"So, why are you telling me?" I finally rasped out, taking a step back. For some reason, I needed to get as much distance between us as I could in the cramped janitor's closet. Curse him for choosing such a small space.

"Because Bella," He began, wringing his hands that he took out of his pockets in an attempt to reach out to me. He took some slow steady breaths, calming himself. What is wrong with him? He's never acted like this before, but now all of a sudden, he wants to be the Cowardly Lion. He took one more deep breath before opening his mouth and uttering what could be the best and worst words of my life. "I'm in love with you."

I froze, again. All blood drained from my face. I had no clue what to do. I wish I had one of those 8-balls things so I could ask it what I was supposed to next. I was stuck. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I ran. I reached for the door handle, threw it open, and bolted. I don't even know why I did it. I'd thought of what I would do if this situation ever presented itself. I was supposed to tell him I felt the exact same, and he would whisk me away, we would get married and have beautiful kids. Yeah, I know, that's a long shot. Still a girl can dream, right?

I ran straight to the girls room, crying all the way there. I had no clue why I was crying, I just was. When I got to the restroom, I blindly fidgeted for my phone, and texted both Rose and Alice.

**Come 2 the girls' room…hurry! -B**

I sent that, and sank to the floor, closing my eyes in the process. Not really knowing what was happening to me. A few minutes later, I heard the door creak open, and I felt two figures slide down next to me.

"Bells?" I heard Rose's soft voice.

I tilted my head toward her, and opened one eye.

"What happened?" She asked, hesitantly.

I wiped my eyes on my sleeves, and tried opening my mouth, but was only met with more tears and sobs.

Why was I crying? This was dumb. He'd finally told me he loved me; granted he told me in a janitor's closet, but that's beside the point. He told me, and I ran. Like a chicken. That's exactly what I was. Isabella Swan the Chicken. Maybe I could get a chicken suit, and walk around flapping my arms, going "bawk" like a real one.

I sobered up, and stood to wash my face out in the sink. After I was done, I turned around and faced my sisters.

"Well, he told me he loved me." I admitted.

There was a beat of silence, then, their squeals were deafening. I covered my ears, and flinched away. They sent apologetic looks my way once they saw my face.

"Sorry." Alice said.

I shrugged.

"But why are you crying? I thought this was what you wanted." Rose mused, walking over to the counter and plopping on top of it.

"It is, it's just…Ugh! I don't know!" I said, going to sit beside her.

"Well, what did you do when he told you he loved you?" Alice asked, coming down, and sitting on the other side of me.

"….I...ran…" I admitted, sheepishly.

"Wow." They breathed at the same time.

"Why?" Alice wondered.

"I guess…I guess I just feel…used?" I answered.

"How?" Rose asked this time.

"I…don't…know. I mean, why didn't he just tell me?" I questioned. I leaned back on the counter, and gazed at the plain white stall in front of me. Then, suddenly a certain memory came back to me. It was of Edward and me a few weeks ago when he had his "problem".

"…_He's worried about their friendship."_

Our friendship? So, if he's worried about our friendship why would he all of a sudden tell me now, instead of later? Oh my Goodness! Why does this have to be so confusing? I sighed heavily. I wonder where he'd be now. Wherever he was, I would be avoiding him like the plague.

"Bells, we're gonna head back to class, ok?" Alice spoke up, hopping down and hugging me.

"O…K." I answered slowly, delayed by my sudden confusion.

"We'll see you in about 45 minutes." Rose added, mimicking Alice and inching her way toward the door.

"Yeah, yeah…sure." I babbled, dismissively.

I hopped down, and made my way to the parking lot. I'd already missed most of the second part of my day; this was the last period, so there really was no need for me to stay. I made it to the parking lot, and scanned it for my truck, when I realized, I'd ridden with Jasper and Alice. Great. I spotted their car, and leaned against it, waiting.

Why _had _I ran? There was no way I could answer that question. I guess I was…scared? Of what? Commitment? No. Getting hurt? Hell yes. How many women go into a relationship in perfect condition, and then come out all crumpled and life-ridden? Too many. So, in that case, I should have every right to be scared, shouldn't I? But still, why wouldn't he have just told me instead of going out with that insufferable girl? And why would he tell me in a janitor's closet? _A janitor's closet. _Edward is many things, but futile wasn't one of them. I'd imagined many a time how Edward would confess his love to me. At the beach at sunset? That seemed more like him, but a janitor's closet. So, amateur. But, there was only one question that was plaguing my mind. Do I love him?

"HELL YES!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"What. The. Hell." I heard a very masculine, velvety voice from behind me. I could tell that voice anywhere.

I froze immediately; humiliation over taking me. Oh My Gosh. Why did I have to be such an idiot sometimes? Slowly, I turned around to face his smirking form, a grimace gracing my features.

"Why the long face?" Edward questioned.

I shrugged; trying to act indifferent, but inside I was burning with nervousness.

A moment of awkward silence passed between us. The way he was staring me made me shift uncomfortably. Finally after about 5 minutes, he said something.

"So," He mumbled, fumbling with his keys.

"Mm." I grunted.

Awkward silence.

"Bella." He finally sighed.

I looked down, at the ground, suddenly it became uncharacteristically interesting.

"Bella." He tried again. "Look at me." He reached a lone hand out to me, but I shrunk back, afraid of my reaction. A look of hurt crossed his face, and he shoved his hands into his pocket, rocking back onto his heels. He turned as if to leave, but suddenly whipped back around.

"Listen, I just wanted to let you know, that I do in fact love you, try as you might to not believe me, but I do, and I will not stop fighting until you become mine." And with that, he spun on his heel, and headed back to his car.

I stood there, dazed and confused. What the hell?

I slid down onto to wet gravel, leaned up against the car, and waited for my sisters and friends to get out of class.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"…and then, he just left." I finished explaining what happened to my sisters. We had declared this night "sleepover night", which we were currently having in my room. We were going to stay up all night, talking and doing sisterly stuff; we weren't going to school tomorrow, instead we were going to some place with boys, and by boys, yes I do include Edward. Alice and Rose were going to make him go.

"Wow." Alice sighed, placing her hand over her heart, staring dreamily out in space.

"That sounds like a promise to me." Rose piped.

I nodded, popping a marshmallow into my mouth.

"What're you gonna do Bells?" Al asked, coming back to reality.

"I honestly haven't the slightest clue." I vowed, shaking my head in confusion.

"Well, how about you talk to him tomorrow!" Rose proclaimed, clapping excitedly as if she had come up with the greatest plan in the world; which, in her mind, she probably had.

"But what would I say?" I replied, rubbing my forehead in concern.

"Do you love him?" Alice questioned, reaching over me to grab some chips.

"Well, yes but—"

"There're no if, and's, or but's about it." Rose stated.

"If. And. But." I spluttered uselessly.

Rose suddenly stood, shaking the excess crumbs from her PJ's, and pointed a perfectly manicured hand in my direction.

"Isabella Gale Marie Victoria Swan!" She yelled.

"What? That's not my name." I pointed out.

"Well, duh, Captain Obvious." Rose scoffed. "I just like adding names to yours, its fun." She finished, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I shook my head. How am I related to her?

"Now, you are going to talk to Edward tomorrow, and you two are gonna get together, and you're gonna like it, do I make myself clear?" She wailed.

I nodded stiffly, butterflies fluttering about inside of my stomach. How was I gonna survive that?

**Edward's POV (YAY!)**

"Dude, why the hell would you do that?" Jasper exclaimed, throwing popcorn at my head.

We were currently camped out in my room, talking. I'd just finished telling them about what I'd done today, and, like the brothers they were, they chastised me. I mean what had I done wrong?

"Jazz, I don't know. What was wrong with what I did?" I asked, looking out my window and into Bella's, my curtains were open for once, only to find that the girls were doing something quite similar to us. I inwardly smiled.

"Firstly, you pulled her into a janitor's closet!" He quipped, throwing his hands up.

"What's with everyone and the janitor's closet?" I groaned, burying my head into my pillow.

"It's not romantic, dude. Even _I _know that." Emmett spoke up from devouring the _grande_ sandwich he'd concocted.

"Ugh!" I moaned, throwing my pillow at his head.

"Quit being such a girl. How about Jazz and I help you?" He suggested, throwing the pillow back, hitting me square on the forehead.

"How?" I asked, rubbing the sore spot; Emmett has quite an arm.

"Easy. We'll give you pointers." He declared, poking out his chest triumphantly.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." I muttered, waiting for them to start.

"Ok. First, _don't ever_ do the janitor's closet thing again_…in your life!"_ Jasper started, putting down the bag of chips he'd been munching on. Emmett was nodding along with every word Jazz said. I rolled my eyes; how was I related to them again?

"Yeah, dude, that's a big 'no-no'." Emmett chimed in.

"All you have to do is be your usual suave, smooth talking self. Be aggressive, don't take no for an answer!" Jasper commanded. I nodded, playing along with the charade.

"Be assertive. Take action!" Emmett boomed, waving his arms around.

"Yeah. Be calm and collected." Jasper suggested, standing and smoothing his golden locks, much like they used to do back in the 50's.

"And most importantly…" Emmett started, but paused mid-sentence and glanced at Jasper, who smirked. They both turned to me, and shouted,

"Get the girl!"

Cheesy much?

I rolled my eyes. "You guys practiced that didn't you?" I asked incredulous.

"No." "Yes."

They said at the same time. Then, they both glanced at each other and then nodded at me.

"You guys are such girls." I laughed.

"Laugh all you want, Edwina, but we'll see who'll be laughing tomorrow when you're gonna be following our advice!" Emmett bellowed, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Real mature bro." I remarked, lying back on my pillows.

He just shrugged.

I started thinking about how I should approach Bella tomorrow. Should I wait a few hours, until we were well into the day's activities, and then drop the bomb on her? Should I approach her in the morning and ruin her whole day if I said the wrong things? Or should I approach her at the end of the day, only to have her hating me all night and the following day? I sighed. Why does this have to be so confusing? Fact of the matter is, I love Bella. I always have. Maybe I should just go from there; make her realize that I'd only been a jerk to her these last few weeks because I was jealous. Maybe, in some other world, she'd admit that she loves me back…maybe. Sigh. I really hope—

I was knocked out of my reverie by none other than Emmet throwing his pillow at my forehead; as if it wasn't already sore.

"WHAT!" I yelled, sitting up to look him in the eyes.

"Uh, wanna play a game?" He asked, innocently.

I groaned and threw his pillow back.

"Go to sleep Emmett." I grumbled, lying down and closing my eyes.

"I don't wanna!" He whined, like the 5 year old he was.

I heard Jasper sigh, and get up to turn out the lights.

"The sooner you go to sleep, Em, the sooner you get to see _Rosie_." He mocked.

"Gasp. Rosie!" Emmett exclaimed, and climbed into his sleeping bag.

I shook my head. No way am I related him.

I turned over to face Bella's window, and found that the girls had fallen asleep as well. Bella's magnificent face was lit by the moonlight, and I could see her sleeping form. She was more beautiful than ever, but I'm sure I've caused her more heartache than anyone; no way could she love me after that.

Oh, how was I gonna survive tomorrow?

* * *

**Well, peeps! Chapter 5...finally! Hope you enjoyed it, and review PLEASE! I'm begging!**

**Ok, so, updates might be way slower since I'm in school and I'm doing volleyball and marching band and my schedule is waaaaaayyyyyy jammed...I'm gonna try to update ASAP though...Don't worry readers, you haven't lost me yet! Anywho, that's about it.**

**Oh, Thanks to my ever wonderful beta, Sidney!**

**See ya!(:**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am soooooooo sorry! I never meant to be out this long, I promise I will try my hardest to not be out that long again. It's just, i'm really busy with band, and trying to keep my grades up, and trying to get enough sleep so that I can make it through the next day...it's just...UGH! Sorry!**

**Well, here's the latest installment...hope you like!(:**

**Ok, so I'm tired of putting disclaimers at the beginning of _every_ chapter...so here it is for the remainder of my story!**

**Disclaimer: I DO...not own Twilight and the characters within it...sadly...*sigh*...**

* * *

Chapter 6

**Bella's POV**

_16 years old_

"He he...ha ha..."

Snickers could be heard from either side of me and hot breath was being blown my way from their whispers. I sighed. Another jacked up day in the life of Isabella freakin' Marie Swan. What's worse is that Isabella has to embark on one of the most terrifying adventures in her very short life. She's very nervous, and isn't sure about how he, or herself for that matter, will take the news, but she's hoping that-

Wait, why am I thinking in third person?

...

That just shows you how weird I am...

I shook my head, looking at the intruders of my sleep. Alice and Rose. Why am I not surprised? I glared, and sat up, entangling the sheets more about my body.

"Why, pray tell, are you _laughing _at me while I am sleeping?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep.

"Well," Alice started, but couldn't finish because she'd broken into another fit of laughter. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

She cleared her throat. "You are aware that you...talk in your sleep, right?"

"No shit, Sherlock. Why does that matter?" I inquired, not in the mood for their playfulness.

"Well, I see someone's not much of a morning person." Rose muttered while checking her nails.

I rolled my eyes. Today was not starting off well, thanks to Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum.

"What is it? Why did you wake me up at-" I turned my head toward my digital clock that resided on my bedside table. "6:45 in the morning? We're not even going to school today, and you choose to wake me up at 6:45. Oh, God why?" I groaned, throwing my head back against my headboard.

"You have to get beautified for your 'talk' today." Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. Leave it to Alice to get happy about the art of "beautifying".

"So, that means get off your ass and get in the shower." Rose instructed, pointing her index finger toward my bathroom.

I mumbled incoherent things as I got up, internally cursing them for waking me up this early. I mean, really, who does this? My sisters, that's who.

As I stripped out of my pajamas, I studied my reflection in the mirror. I was still pale-faced, brown hair, brown eyed Bella. Your average american teenager. Maybe a makeover would do me good. _Wait what?_ I've been spending way too much time with Alice and Rose.

Shaking my head, I stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water would get me out of this crazy state of mind. As I was washing my hair, I heard more laughter, but the manly kind. No, there weren't men in my room, I was sure of it, so I wrote it off as me just being delusional. I finished up, and stepped out with my towel securely wrapped around me. Even if they were my sisters, I wasn't comfortable with being stared at.

I opened the door, only to find that I wasn't being delusional, and there were, in fact, men in my room. Emmett and Jasper, to be exact.

"How's _'riding the_ _Disco Stick'_ coming for ya, Bells?" Emmett wailed, clutching his sides laughing.

What? What could he possibly be-

NO! I did NOT dream about Edward's "disco stick"...I just couldn't have...could I?

"Oh. My. God. NO!" I roared, stomping my foot against the carpet.

"YES!" Emmett boomed, crouching down on the floor, trying to catch his breath.

I looked at the faces around the room. Alice and Rose's were ones of sheer amusement, Emmett...well he was just being Emmett, and Jasper, oh bless his soul, his face showed nothing but confusion.

"Jazz, something wrong?" I asked, switching my weight from one foot to another, impatiently awaiting his answer; I wanted to get dressed and out of my nudity.

"I just...don't...understand." He admitted sheepishly.

"Understand what, Jazzy?" Alice asked from her spot perched beside Jasper on my couch.

"What is Edward's _'disco stick'_?" He inquired, casting his eyes downward. It must've been my eyes playing tricks on me, but I could've sworn I saw him blush.

At this, the room grew silent. Even Emmett stopped his rambunctious laughter. Jasper lifted his head at the sudden silence, only to find that all our gazes were fixated on him.

"I'm missing something major here, aren't I?" He asked, rubbing his neck in a nervous manner.

We all just kept silent, waiting for him to see the obvious.

"OH!" He exclaimed after what felt like an eternity. "It's Edward's d-" Thankfully, Alice clapped her hand over his mouth before he could utter that wretched word.

"Our parents are still here, you know." She warned.

He nodded, and she released his mouth.

"I feel slow." He murmured after a while.

"Dude, I thought I was the dumb one." Emmett blurted out from his place on the floor.

"You are." Jasper muttered picking up one of my pillows on my bed and throwing it Emmett's head.

"Am not!" He replied throwing the pillow back.

"Are too!" Jasper argued, repeating his earlier action.

"Am n-" He started, but was interrupted by Rose.

"Shut up and stop acting like 5 year olds."

"Yeah." Alice agreed.

"Sorry." They muttered at the same time. I shook my head. Boys.

"Now, you have to get out so we can get ready." Alice pointed out impatiently. Her saying that brought me back to the realization that I was only in a towel. Embarrassed, I slid behind the bathroom door to conceal myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice roll her eyes.

Jasper and Emmett both got up and headed for the door all the while shoving each other like a couple of kids. Alice and Rose just stood there shaking their heads.

As soon as the door shut, they turned and stalked toward me; predator and prey.

Let the torture begin.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

After many hours...OK, maybe I'm exaggerating...after about an hour, I had on, what Rose and Alice deemed to be the "perfect outfit", which consisted of a not-so-dressy blue top, (I don't know why they always dress me up in blue, something about Edward liking to see me in it...blah, blah...) some very tight-fitted jeans, black heel-less boots (thank God..I didn't feel like tripping today), and a black beanie to top it off. I actually approved this outfit. It had style and grace. I waited for them to get dressed, and then we were off into Rose's vehicle.

I'd known we weren't going to school, but I didn't know in particular where we were going, so imagine my surprise when we pulled up at a carnival. My inner child squealed, pleased to know that it would be able to run free; after my talk with Edward of course. I huffed. My talk with Edward. I was _not_ in any way ready to speak to him, but the inevitable could not be prolonged, and this was the perfect time to do it; why not seize the moment, eh?

I stepped out of the car, slowly, trying to put this off longer, and when I was fully out, I sucked in whatever confidence was left in me, which wasn't much, and stomped off to where my sisters and their boyfriends had assembled.

"Hiya, Bells." Emmett grinned menacingly at me, standing with his arm around Rose. "How's the-"

"Don't. Even." I warned, glaring in his direction. He clamped his mouth shut, and hid behind Rosalie. Good, he needs to be frightened.

"Morning, Bells." Jasper calmly greeted me from his place beside Alice.

"Hey Jazz." I replied, growing wary at what I was about to discuss.

"Hello, Bella." I heard a velvety voice utter.

After taking a much needed deep breath to calm myself down, I slowly spun around to face him. I plastered a nervous smile on my face, and greeted him back.

"Hello, Edward." I mumbled, looking down.

It seemed like we were both stunned, because we stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Someone behind us cleared their throat.

"So, we'll just leave you two to your own devices, uh, yeah, bye." Alice muttered.

And with that, they flitted away hurriedly.

_Thanks for the help guys._ I thought.

"You look beautiful." Edward admitted, looking at me with those impenetrable emerald eyes. Oh how I'd missed those eyes.

"Thanks." I blushed. I was scared as hell, and yet he'd made me blush.

We might be able to accomplish something.

"Look-" I started, but stopped because he'd grabbed my hand and was pulling me toward the nearest bench.

I was stunned for a moment, but shook it off.

"You were saying." He implored, giving me his full attention.

"Ok, so, where do we start?" I asked, totally baffled as to how to do this.

"Well, you already know how I feel about you, do you return those feelings?" He inquired, unleashing the full power of his eyes on me.

I sighed. "Edward, I-" I started, but couldn't finish.

"You?" He repeated, waiting patiently for me to go on.

"I love you." I stated, playing with my hands that were resting in my lap.

He exhaled a big huff of air, and waited.

"But I don't know if I _can_ love you." I lamented.

_What? That made no sense you idiot!_

His expression turned into one of sadness, and I longed to take the sorrow from his eyes. It made my stomach churn to know that I'd been the one to put it there, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to willingly be with him, at least not now, I was far too hurt.

"Edward-"

"Tell me why." He insisted, looking me straight in the eyes, while mine were looking everywhere but his.

"Why what?" I asked, confused.

"Why you can't love me."

I gulped. How do I explain how I feel? How can I make him understand the hurt that he'd caused me? That's just the thing...he wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand how I stayed up crying night after night, wishing that whore out of existence. He wouldn't understand that it took a piece of my heart everytime I saw them together. So what's the point?

_The point,_ I reminded myself._ Is to _get_ him to understand._

"You...don't understand." I finally admitted.

"Then help me to understand." He pleaded, scooting a little closer to me on the bench. I didn't move away for once; we were making progress.

I sighed. "Edward, every night that we weren't talking, I stayed up crying relentlessly, hoping you would come climbing through my window, hold me and tell everything was gonna be alright. Everyday that I would see you and Tanya walk down the halls at school, my heart would sink deeper into my chest, knowing that you wanted to be with her and not me. I felt ugly, unwanted, and useless, and I know you didn't know I was going through any of this, but I was, and I just don't wanna get hurt." Tears were streaming down my face, and I swiftly stuck my hand under my eye to swipe them away.

He was quiet for awhile. Pondering, I'd guessed. Then, swiftly, he grabbed my hands and placed them in his lap, playing with my fingers. I didn't object because I'd missed his touch.

"Bella," He began. "I only agreed to being with Tanya because I thought you and Jacob were together."

"What?" I blurted out. "Of all the ridiculous-"

"Bella, what do you expect when I waltz around the corner, on the day I was finally gonna tell you that I loved you, and see you and him hugged up against a locker?"

"It wasn't even-"

"Answer the question." He insisted, still playing with my fingers.

I thought about what he'd said, and I fully understood where he was coming from, but still...

"I guess I understand what you mean, but I do recall a day where I was trying to explain it to you, and you all but told me to fuck off." I exlplained, remembering that day clearly.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was a little pissed that you were judging me." He replied, staring at our joined hands.

"It's ok." I answered, staring at our hands as well; the warmth was amazing.

It was quiet for awhile, I guess we both were caught up in our own thoughts.

"So where do we stand now?" He asked, suddenly.

I sighed. "I honestly don't know if I can trust you, Edward."

He sighed as well. "Give me a chance, Bella, please?"

"I...don't...know." I concluded. Was it really worth me getting hurt?

"What do I need to do? I'll do anything, you should know. I won't stop until you become mine, Bella. I love you, so much." He hung his head, and then, it all came gushing out of him.

"Everyday, that's how much I'd think of you, everyday. Even when I was with Tanya, like I said, I was only with her because I thought you were with Jacob. I've loved you all along, Bella. I know that you don't wanna get hurt, hell, we all don't wanna get hurt, but sometimes Bells, you have to put your heart out on the line, you have to take that risk in order to be happy. And I promise, no I swear to you that I will never ever hurt you Bella. You mean way too much to me, and I couldn't live with myself if I put you through any more pain." He started sniffling, and it just about broke my heart to hear him speak so sincerely.

"Bella, you don't know how much you mean to me. Even when we were younger, I knew there was something more there. I didn't just like you, I longed for your presence. Back then, I really didn't know what I was feeling, but now I do. I know that everytime I see your smile, it puts a smile on my face, and every time I hear your voice my heart rate quickens. Even when you're near me, my palms get clammy and I get nervous. Bella, I love you so much, and I just wish you could see that." He said while tears trailed down his cheek.

"Oh, Edward," I muttered and reached my hand to his cheek to wipe them away.

I removed my hands from his, and placed them behind his neck to pull him in for a hug.

He was serious, he really did love me and not that slut. He did want to be with me, or else he wouldn't be crying. My heart swelled to know that he did, in fact, love me the way that I loved him. Maybe I should give this a try, it could work. No, it _would_ work.

I leaned back, and found that he'd stopped crying, and there were only two little tears still in the corners of his eyes, and the trails of his tears on his cheek. I leaned up and kissed them away, hoping that that was alright.

"Edward," I started, hesitantly, not really sure what I was about to get myself into. "I love you."

And that seemed to confirm where we stood. He leaned down, and pressed his lips to mine in a way I never thought possible. There was so much love behind that kiss; I never wanted it to end.

But, soon, my lungs began to scream in protest, and I cursed them for needing air. I pulled back, only to lay my forehead against his.

"Thank you, Bella." He lilted, with a huge smile on his face.

"For what?" I asked, generally curious as to what he could be talking about.

"For loving me." He stated simply. And though it wasn't much, my heart lurched.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"_Finally._" Emmett rejoiced, as we told our friends about what our little chat had done for us.

We were all at the boys' house, in their living room, eating up all of their snacks. Emmett was seated in the chair with Rose perched on his lap, Alice and Jasper were both lying on the floor next to each other, and Edward and I were sitting on the couch, snuggled up to each other.

"Emmett!" Rose hissed as she slapped him on the back of his head.

"Ow! What?" He cried, rubbing the spot she'd hit.

She just shook her head.

"Congrats, I'm happy for you guys, and I'm also happy that I don't have to deal with Edward and his moping anymore." Jasper proclaimed, picking up some candy for both him and Alice.

"Hey! I did _not_ mope!" Edward protested, stopping mid chew, and also showing me all the contents that he held within his mouth when he spoke.

"Yeah Edward, you did." Emmett chimed in.

"No, I didn't." Edward grumbled, but only loud enough for me to hear. I chuckled at them and their banters.

Suddenly, Alice gasped.

"Al, what's up?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing. This just means we get to have a triple date night!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Oh no. We just added more fuel to the energizer bunny.

We all just shook our heads. Alice will be Alice.

"So, Bells, are you finally gonna ride the _Disco Stick_?" Emmett blurted out.

As soon as those words left his mouth, I blushed crimson. Everyone else though, except Edward, burst into loud guffaws.

"What's the _Disco Stick_?" Edward asked, confusion winning as his dominent feature on his face.

"Don't worry Edward, I was the same way this morning." Jasper reassured him, which only made everyone laugh harder, and my blush to deepen.

"Yeah, but what it is?" Edward persisted.

"It's your-" Emmett started, but thankfully Rose clamped a hand over his mouth. God bless her.

I glared at Rosalie and Alice.

"You know...this is all your guys' fault."

* * *

**Sooooo I hope I made it up to you guys (and I admit, this wasn't my best chapter...)...Again, sorry for being away for so long, but then again, If I had more reviews maybe the updates would come faster...Just a suggestion.**

**Anywho, REVIEW PLEASE!**

**See ya next chapter!(:**

**~TTP**


	7. AN

**Hello occupants of Fanfiction(dot)net! (and readers of this story)**

**Firstly, I would like to apologize tremendously for my lack of updates. You have no clue how sorry I am. Life just got in the way, and no matter what, my grades come first. Plus, if you ever want to hear from me again, you'd want me to keep my grades up, because if they aren't then all of my privileges get taken away...and we _all _don't want that, now do we?**

**Anywho, I'm writing this AN because I wanted to apologize (obviously...) and to ask a question of you guys.**

**Now, I have ideas for this story, but I don't want to write to nobody. It just seems like people don't read this story. I'm undecided as to whether or not I should continue this story, so if you could PM me or review to the story your opinion on the matter, it would help me greatly.**

**Thanks!**

**~ Tia (:**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello my wonderful readers! People wanted to keep reading, so I wanted to send this out for the few that actually wanted to read it. So thank those who said wanted me to continue.**

**Honestly, I have no excuse except for exhaustion. I will try to be more frequent in my updates; I don't want to let you guys down. **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: _(See before chapter...)_**

* * *

Bella's POV

_18 years old_

"Kill. Me. Now." I exclaimed, plopping down onto the nearest couch in the dressing rooms.

I'd known that agreeing to this blasted shopping trip was a mistake, yet here I stood, or rather sat, in this horrible mall, going from store to store, missing my Edward terribly.

_My Edward._

Ever since we'd had that talk about 2 years ago, we had been as strong as ever, spending every moment we could with each other. I loved him now more than ever. He'd taken me to everywhere from amusement parks to scary movie to the zoo and everywhere in between. He seriously was everything I'd hoped for and more. The waiting period dimmed and seemed far away from where we were now.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice called from somewhere inside the store. "We have more outfits for you to try on."

"Why me?" I muttered, rising from my spot.

_Honesty, is what you need, it sets you free, like someone to save you. Let it go, but hurry though, there's undertow and I don't wanna lose you, now. _My phone sang.

Oh, thank goodness. Whoever that is just saved my sanity.

I hastily dug in my back pocket, pulling out my cellular device.

"Hello?"

_"Hello, beautiful." _

"Oh my God, Edward, I love you." I praised. His smooth laugh could be heard on the line.

_"I love you, too, but what's with the sudden use of this sentiment. Not that I'm complaining. What? Not having fun on your shopping trip?" _He teased.

"Har, har. Make jokes all you want, but remember I'm your date tonight." I reminded him, looking around, hoping Alice wouldn't find me hiding. I'd ducked behind some clothing carts in the hopes of staying unseen. Yeah, we'll see how well this goes...

_"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. Well, I just called to make sure you were alive."_ He joked.

"Yes, my body is very much so intact. Thanks for being so concerned." I said, sarcasm dripping from my tone.

_"Oh, no problem. It's my job."_ He replied, smugly. I could see that smirk he'd be wearing and the way his eyes smoldered. It was his typical teasing expression, and he wore it daily, seeing as how he made fun of me everyday. Ugh! How I hated him, yet I love him so much.

Oh, the tangled web I weave!

"Jerk." I muttered.

_"Love you, too. See you tonight, love."_

"Yeah, yeah." I answered and closed the phone.

Why had I agreed to the triple date? If I hadn't, I'm sure Alice wouldn't have dragged me to this horrid place. It seemed she had a guilty pleasure for making me feel bored out of my mind and tired at the same time. Apparently, it was amusing for her to watch me suffer. And it's not just me that she does it to. Oh, she does it to everyone else, I'm just the only one who despises it immensely and speaks my mind profusely, telling her every single time how much I hated it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I jumped from my hiding space and placed a hand over my racing heart. What the hell was her problem? Alice had snuck behind me while I was on the phone, then proceeded to scare the begeebers out of me. That girl was evil. She knew that I was the scariest person..._ever_. It was so easy to frighten me. I could be sitting in broad daylight, in front of a window, where there were witnesses, and Emmett could pop out in a white sheet and yell, "boo!", and he would still scare the hell out of me. Pathetic, I know, but it was true, and everyone uses it to their advantage, scaring me every chance they got.

"N-nothing." I assured her, looking toward the ground.

"Mmhmm." She mumbled, and I could've sworn she'd murmured something along the lines of, "crazy, irrational girl" as she flitted away. She walked a couple of meters, but then turned back around when she found that I wasn't following suit.

"Well?" She grumbled, impatiently. "We haven't got all day."

"I'm coming. No need to get your panties in a twist." I vowed, waltzing quickly to her side.

She huffed, but turned around and made her way to Rose.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to spend time with your precious _Edward_ in a couple of hours." Rose mocked, sticking her tongue out at me.

Real mature.

"You're real funny, Rose." I pointed out, eyeing the big stack of dresses they'd piled up. Were all of those for me?

"I know." She commented, turning back to the dresses we were browsing through; well, _they_ were browsing through.

I'd refused to take part in any of the "shopping" aspect. I would only try on clothes. It drove Alice and Rose crazy to no end, and that was the only reason why I enjoyed doing it. Other than that, shopping was a pain in the-

"...as I was saying, he insisted that we- Bella? Bella! Bel-la! Yoohoo!" Rose was waving her hands frantically in front of my face, trying to get my attention.

"What?"

She blinked. "Did you even hear a word I said?"

"Sure I did." I assured her though I hadn't heard a word.

"Oh yeah? Then repeat what I just said." She challenged, placing her hands on her hips. Oh, it was like that, was it?

"Well, you just said...Umm...You said..." Damn, come on, Bella. Think!

"You were saying...you were saying that-!" I started. Damn, why couldn't I think of anything.

"See, that's exactly what I was talking about." She teased, throwing a smirk my way.

I sighed. Figures. I wasn't listening anyway.

"And for not answering the question correctly," She continued, in an annoyingly horrible imitation of a sports announcers voice. "You get the luxury of trying on _all_ of these lovely dresses."

"Yay me." I muttered sarcastically. She was so corny, and too much like Emmett for her own good. She'd been spending too much time with him. I fear that if she spends any more, she'd grow a huge set of muscles and when she smiled dimples would suddenly appear.

"Go, go, go!" Alice urged, pushing me into a stall.

"I hate you guys, you know!" I yelled just as the door was being closed in my face.

My only answer was some dresses being thrown over the stall door.

I huffed.

_Great!_

_*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*_

"Oh My Jasper." Alice squealed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands. "This is the one."

I gasped. "_The_ _one_, Al?"

She rolled her eyes, but answered anyway. "This is most definitely _the_ one."

I had waltzed out of the stall, after trying on what felt like 200 different dresses, and I'm pretty sure that they had given me 200 dresses. After throwing in the initial 20, they would leave and come back, throwing dresses over the stall door, and making me try on _all_ of them. Seriously, did they think I was a machine? I didn't run on gas, I was a human being, but they didn't seem to think that.

"You like?" I purred, jokingly swaying my hips from side to side in what I hoped looked like a seductive manner, but knowing that I'd failed miserably.

Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head at my attempts. Hey, you can't kill a girl for trying, right?

"Ok, _now_ are we done?" I asked, impatiently. We'd been at this all day. I was tired, irritable, and my nerves were at an end.

"Fine. I guess that's enough 'torturing Bella' for a day." Alice allowed, crossing her arms across her chest and huffing.

"No, that's enough for the rest of our lives." I mumbled under my breath, while calmly creeping into my stall.

"What was that?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrows. Damn her and her good hearing.

"Oh, nothing." I sang, closing the stall in their faces. I smirked. Maybe they would leave me alone.

I quickly got changed, throwing on my clothes, blindly. I really didn't care what I was doing, all I wanted to do was leave that place, quickly. But, in all my hurrying, I'd hit my knee against the little bench that they kept in the stall.

"Ow! Sweet _Jesus_, that hurt!" I exclaimed, hopping up and down in the small space.

"Bella?" Rose's concernced voice came from outside the door. "You okay in there?"

"No!" I roared, glaring at the cursed bench.

"Well, what happened?" She asked.

I gathered my belongings, sending one more glare toward the stupid bench, and swung the door open.

"I hit my damn knee. It hurts so bad, and now I have to hobble around like a penguin." I whined. I knew I didn't have to limp, but it seemed that way.

"Wow. You are seriously so clumsy that you're disabled." I heard Alice mutter from behind Rose, which she answered with a chuckle.

"I knoooow!" I kept whining. I should seriously have a sign hung over me that read, _"Danger! Keep away from!"_

I pushed past them, and dramatically limped up to the check up counter. I figured my mood could not get any worse than that. Although some might say that I was being incredibly over dramatic, but they hadn't hit their knee. And, my God, did it hurt.

"Hey, sweetie pie." I heard from the cashier behind the counter.

I frowned. Why does that voice sound so familiar? Oh, please, please, please, Lord up above, let me be imagining that horrible voice. Let this just be a sign of me going crazy and that voice was just in my head. Please, please, please, please, pl-

"Um, Bella? Are you gonna pay for this dress?" The vile Michael Newton asked. Yes, he was Michael now. He didn't deserve to be called Mike; not after he's been trying to break Edward and I up for the past 2 years. He was just _that_ cruel.

"No."

But it wasn't my voice that trilled that reply. Thank God Alice was there.

"Bella, would you please go tell our dad, _Chief_ Swan, that we're almost done here?" She asked politely. She turned toward me and winked, telling me that she had everything in control.

I nodded and happily obliged. I didn't argue this once because I was tired of having to deal with Michael.

I spun on my heel, and high-tailed it out of there. I was never, repeat, _never_, going back to that place. Once I passed the threshold, I took a deep, calming breath. This day was just too much. I had to cheer myself up. Yeah, I'm just weird like that. I have to cheer myself up because apparently nobody else wants to do it.

Quickly, I whipped out my phone, and dialed the only number that I knew would help me.

_"Hello?"_

My sigh of relief was almost inaudible.

_"Are you ok?"_

"You have no idea what I've been through." I confessed, leaning back against the bench I'd sat down on and letting myself relax.

_"Oh really? I bet I could guess."_ He hedged.

"Oh, I bet you could, but what fun would that be?" I teased.

_"You're evil, Ms. Swan."_ He laughed.

"So I've been told." I shot back, enjoying this.

_"Oh, really? By who?"_

It's time to cheer myself up.

"Oh, you know. By Mike Newton...as he whispered my name in the janitor's closet where he works." I could hear him choking on the other end of the line. I knew this would get him riled up, and that's just what I needed. It was so much fun messing with him, and he wasn't the only that could do it.

_"What? Bella, you can't be serious?"_ He spluttered. I was having too much fun.

"I can be serious, Edward, very serious." I giggled out.

_"Bella, this isn't funny." _He whined.

"But, I'm laughing." I wheezed out in between guffaws.

_"Bel-la."_

"Ed-ward." I mocked.

_"You are gonna be in so much trouble when you get home." _He warned.

"Ooh, I'm so scared. I'll go alert the police." My mood was so much better now. I knew calling him would cheer me up. He always did. That's one of the things I loved about him. He was always good natured and kind, and sometimes playful. The perfect mixture.

_"Be afraid, be very afraid." _

Was he serious? Who says that now-a-days?

"Goodbye, Edward. I love you." I laughed.

Laughing on his end as well.

_"Until later, my love."_

I let my head loll onto the back of the bench and my eyes close. I couldn't wait to get home to him.

"Alright, let's leave this shithole and get home." Rose announced as her and Alice were gliding out of the store.

"I think that's the best thing you've said all day." I said, rising from the bench I'd been occupying.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

"Hoooooneeeeey, we're home!" Alice called, rather loudly, as we entered our house.

"Oh, girls!" Our mother strolled in casually. "It's about time you got here! Those boys have been harrassing us all day!"

"Oh really?" I started. "Well, let's go see them...now." I hopelessly begged to no one in particular.

"Please do! I was 10 seconds away from strangling them." Mom confessed, hanging her head, the ghost of a smile appearing on her lips.

"We will." Rose spoke up from beside Alice. "Just not now." And with that, she dragged me, Alice, and our mountain of bags upstairs to get ready for our triple date.

Throwing a quick, "Help me!", to mom, they flew, I kind of just stumbled, up the stairs to my room. I trudged to my bed and flopped down.

"Ok, so I-" I started.

"Shh, wait. I have to check if they're in his room." Alice declared, trekking over to the window and peeking through. With a confirming nod, she pulled the curtains closed and turned on her heel back to us.

"Coast is clear." She confirmed with a salute. Dramatic much?

"Ok, now, we all found dresses, and shoes...so, I think we're ok to get dressed?" Rose started, taking charge of our situation.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Alice answered, keeping up with her military charade. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Good. Now, Bella, here's your outfit..." She started. I opened my mouth to say something, but she swiftly cut me off. "No objections!"

I huffed.

"And Al, yours." She handed hers to her, and with a parting glance from both of them, they departed from my room. I sighed a heavy sigh of relief, but looked longingly at my window.

When was I gonna get to see Edward today? Those girls were mad if they thought I was gonna stay away from him for that long. But, should I do it? Should I sneak out and see him before our 'wondrous' date?

It only took me a split second to decide. Yes, yes I would.

With a sneak peak at the door, I made a move for the window. I was so excited, I hadn't seen him all day, and believe me, that was a long time.

Just a few steps more and I was home free...

One more st-

"STOP!" Alice cried from my threshold.

Damn! Stupid, intuitive, nosey sister!

"You're coming to get dressed in my room. I have to make sure you aren't gonna do any funny business." She declared, coming to my side, grabbing my wrist and yanking me into her room, where she proceeded to throw on huge, plush, fluffy bed.

"Now, get dressed, no complaints!" She demanded, turning on her heel and waltzing off into her bathroom.

I huffed. Stupid, all-knowing sister.

I hesitantly got dressed, thanking God that I wasn't going to die of humiliation, at least not tonight, from Emmett's relentless teasing. Alice and Rose had wanted to put me in some kind of skimpy dress that showed way too much thigh and had my breasts hanging over the edge of it. I'd refused profusely, all the while blushing at the image of even wearing such a horrid thing. I mean, really? Me? I can't pull anything like that off.

This dress wasn't _that_ bad. It came to about mid thigh, it was strapless with blue with black at the bottom, under and between the bust area. It was a very pretty dress, and got my stamp of approval, much to Alice's and Rosalie's pleasure.

As I was smoothing down my dress, Alice came prancing out of the bathroom in her strapless white and black ensemble. It was mid thigh, black at the top, a mixture in the middle, and white at the bottom. I'd liked that one; for her of course.

"Well, ladies, do I look presentable?" Rose asked, striding through our door sporting a strapless purple dress. It was mid thigh as was ours, with some type of shimmery fabric on the bottom half. She could pull it off, and did so well. I admired women like her and Alice, people who could wear stuff like that and not feel self conscious.

I scoffed. "Do you even have to ask?"

"Duh." She retorted, twirling in a little circle for Alice and me to further admire her. I rolled my eyes. Rosalie will be Rosalie.

Just then there was a knock at Alice's door, and Rosalie, who was closest at the time, opened it.

"Girls, your Prince Charmings are here." Mom squealed from the doorway.

"'Kay." Alice answered, searching for her shoes.

"Oh, look at my girls!" Mom gushed. "Hold on, let me get camera." And with that she fled to her and Dad's room to retrieve her camera.

"Oh, brother." I proclaimed, flopping onto the bed.

"Oh, hush." Alice chided, sticking her arm out and handing me a pair of heels. "Take these shoes and put them on."

I eyed the shoes she'd handed me. Black high heels. I should've known. Quickly, I slid them on my feet, not complaining; I'd done enough of that for us all today.

"Alrighty! Let's get this show on the road." Mom exclaimed, coming back; camera in hand.

"Wait! We have to do our make up!" Alice suddenly shouted, pulling me into the bathroom.

"Hurry up!" Mom warned, backing out the door. "Until then, I'll go entertain the boys."

I groaned, thowing my head back. There's no telling what my mother could do to them while we weren't around.

"Ok, Bella. We're gonna keep it light." Alice reassured me. "Just some blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, and lip gloss."

Thank the Lord. I didn't feel like having my face painted this evening. I gave her a grateful smile, and sat on the closed toilet lid.

After she was done, she went on to her own face, and Rose and I waited on her bed. She'd done her own make up while Alice was doing mine.

"So, Bella, are you ready for this triple date?" Rose asked me.

She'd known that I'd been a little hesitant in going on these triple dates that we have, and though girls always stared at Edward when we went out, it was different when we had an audience. I'd always marked my territory; showed that he was taken, and Emmett always found a way to make fun of me. Not only about that, but he'd make fun of how uncomfortable I looked in those dresses that Alice would force me into. I'd always try to make some witty comment back, but, of course, it was lost in the howling laughter and subtle chuckles of my peers. It infuriated me, so you could imagine why I was reluctant to go on this date.

"Honestly, I'd rather go on a date alone. I mean, I know Edward and I have been official for almost 2 years now, but I can never get over the feeling that he's actually mine, you know? Plus, I really don't have an itching to be teased by Emmett tonigh." I answered, staring at the rug that covered Alice's floor.

"Yeah, I understand. I was like that with Emmett, still am, but it's nice to go out with your sisters every once in a while," She offered, putting her hand on my shoulder. "And don't worry about Emmett, I've got him under control." She added as an after thought.

"Thanks, Rose. I think I'll strangle him tonight if he so much as peeps a joke about me." I joked, hugging my sister.

"Hey! Don't strangle my man. He may be annoying and boisterous and unmanageable and outrageous and irritating, but I love him." She laughed, hugging me back.

"Oh, I bet." I muttered. I had no clue how she could love that man, but, hey, if he made her happy, who am I to argue?

"Hey, am I missing out on a perfect sisterly moment?" Alice whined, suddenly appearing beside us.

"No, you weren't. Now, let's go." I rushed, standing up, straightening my clothes, and striding for the door. Alice and a sisterly moment just didn't mix. She'd have us all stuck in her room doing some kind of bonding exercise that requires us to vent our feelings and confess things like we were in an Alcoholics Anonymous group. We were already late, and no telling what our Mom was doing to our poor boyfriends. I was almost out the door when I didn't feel anybody following me, so I turned around to see that they were still where they were a minute ago.

"Well?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "Are you just gonna sit there?"

They just shook their heads, and rose from the spots they were occupying, and followed me out to our boys.

* * *

**Look, I know that this was not my best chapter. I just wanted to get this one out. The next one will be better and will include their date! Excited? I am! LOL.**

**Honestly, I will try to update more often.**

**Leave me some love, please!**

**~ TTP**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hiya! Soo, nothing new really...as per usual. Just enjoy the story, yeah? (:**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

**I apologize now for any mistakes...it's 1:30 a.m. here, and I didn't get to send this to my beta, (sorry, Sidney!) I just wanted to get this out...Again, sorry in advance!**

* * *

Bella's POV

_18 years old_

"And, this one was when they were pretty little. Bella had insisted that she take a bath with her sisters." Mom gushed, holding up the photo for them to see. "They were so cute! Oh, you should've seen the pout Bella gave me, Edward!"

"Renee!" Emmett whined, somewhat childishly. Obviously, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind to her. "We've already seen these photos a thousand times! Can you just please tell us when our girlfriends will be ready?"

I chuckled quietly from my place on the stairs, next to Rose and Alice, who were also amused at the situation before us. Apparently, entertaining our boyfriends meant showing them embarrassing photos that they'd already seen before. They were all currently residing on our huge sofa. Emmett, his face in his hands, was leaning over the back of the sofa, trying desperately to get this moment over and done, while Edward and Jasper were perched on the sofa with Mom wedged in between them. Edward, bless his soul, was on the receiving end of Mom's gushing, and I could've sworn that he was blushing, while Jasper was quietly taking the scene in joyously, most likely ecstatic that he wasn't being subjected to Mom's tenaciousness. Again, I giggled at the unfolding scene at hand.

I took that time to admire what Edward had put on. We didn't usually dress up for 'triple date night', only when we went somewhere worth dressing up, did we actually _look_ nice. He looked perfect from his perfectly disarrayed hair all the way down to his black dress shoes. He had on some black slacks and a blue shirt that matched my dress perfectly. I should've guessed that Alice would make us all match up like couples. It was her signature thing, but I couldn't complain; Edward looked completely edible in his get up. I was in the right mind to march right over to Alice and plant a big, wet one on her cheek.

When a grimace graced Edward's beautiful features, I figured it was time for me to intervene and put his discomfort to rest.

"Alright, Mom, stop harassing them." I proclaimed, making our presence known and stepping the rest of the way down the stairs. Relief over took the boys faces, and they hurried to scramble up from the couch.

As Edward's eyes landed on me, his jaw dropped and he stopped in his tracks. Oh, he was just too cute! Flattered, I dropped my gaze onto the ground, and slowly paced toward him, butterflies fluttering about in my stomach the whole time. Why was I so nervous? I'd loved this guy for my whole life, I shouldn't be the slightest bit scared. Mustering up some confidence, I lifted my eyes and met his gaze, triumphantly.

"Jaw dropping, am I?" I teased, breaking Edward out of his trance. He quickly snapped his jaw shut, and pulled me into a tight hug.

"That doesn't even cover the half of it." He huskily whispered into my ear. I shivered involuntarily, and was rewarded with his smirk as he pulled away from me and reached for my hand. "Let's go, Bella."

I nodded, and followed Edward as he lead us out to his car. Opening the door for me, I thanked him and gracefully tried to slide in, and smiled when I somewhat pulled it off.

"So, how was your day?" Edward asked, when he was successfully inside of the vehicle.

"Do you really even have to ask?" I groaned, laying my head back on the seat.

Edward chuckled. I could only imagine of what he thought was so funny.

"Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad." He reasoned, reaching for my hand over the console, after he'd quieted his silent laughter.

"You're right," I sufficed, playing with his fingers. "It was worse."

"Yeah, well, just be glad you weren't subjected to Emmett's horrifying teasing the whole day." He muttered, clasping our hands together. I could see the way his eyebrows pulled together over his eyes; Emmett must have really upset him.

_Emmett._ Now I'd have to be teased the whole date.

"I'm pretty sure he's gonna tease me all night." I moaned, staring out of the passenger window.

Edward flashed his gaze onto me with a determined expression on his face.

"No, he won't. I won't let him. If it's the last thing I do, Bella, I'll make sure he won't mess with you tonight, or ever, for that matter." He vowed, staring sincerely into my eyes. I just gulped and nodded.

We pulled up to the restaurant then, and I gasped at the sight before me. We couldn't go here, it was way too expensive.

"Edward." I drawled in a warning tone. "No."

"I don't want to hear it, Bella. You're eating here and you're gonna let me pay for you." He declared, hopping out of the car, and jogging around to my side to open the door.

"But...You can't!" I whined when he'd opened my door, and I'd stepped out onto the concrete.

He just sighed, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward him.

"Bella," He silkily whispered. "Can't I just do this one thing for you? Please?" His deep green eyes stared at me like they could see to my soul, and his expression was one of sorrow and determination. Might I say he looked very sexy.

Oh dear Lord. Help me now!

I melted into his body and placed my forehead onto his chest, shaking my head during the process.

"Please?" He begged once more, but this time, he tilted my head up with his index finger and placed a lingering, tender kiss upon my lips.

My knees almost gave out.

"No fair," I pouted. "You cheated."

"I'm gonna take that as a yes." He proclaimed, pecking my lips once more and leading me into the restaurant.

We were chuckling when we entered, and I had to lean on Edward for support.

"Table for how many, sir?" A lady at the front podium asked Edward. She was some bimbo with fake boobs that were hanging over her work blouse, way too much make-up, and a fake valley girl accent. While she was staring at Edward, she started twirling a strand of her hair and blowing bubbles with her gum. How disgusting!

"We're with somebody else's party." Edward replied smoothly. He showed no interest in the bimbo, and placed a protective arm around my waist.

"And who would that be, handsome?" She questioned, adding a little fake laugh on the end of her sentence. I was getting tired of her little charade, so, I thought I'd put an end to it.

"Look, you little whore, I'd appreciate it if you would stop trying to make yourself beautiful for _my boyfriend_. Quite frankly, you will never be pretty with the way your looking, he doesn't want you, and he never will want you, so fuck off!" I snapped, moving forward to stand at eye level with her.

"Go, Bells!" I heard Emmett roar from somewhere in the restaurant. Normally, I would've blushed at my audience, but this girl infuriated me, even more so than the other regular flirts that hit on Edward. I don't know what it was about her, maybe it was the extensions clipped in her hair, or the way she would lick her lips while she was talking to Edward. I'd never been much of a violent person, but this girl made me want to punch her right in her fake nose.

"Excuse me?" She spluttered, her mouth hanging in a giant 'o'.

"You heard me." I shot at her, not backing down. I was going to win this one.

"Look, miss, I don't know who you think you are..." She started.

"It doesn't matter who I am, you don't hit on other girls boyfriends. It makes you sad and pathetic, and really, it's irrelevant; you won't get the guy anyway. So why don't you just take your fake nails off so you can hand us a menu, and turn your fake ass around and show us to our table before I sock you one in your fake ass face!" I fumed. As soon as I realized what I'd said, a look of confusion took over my face.

Wow. Where'd that come from?

I turned toward my sisters and their boyfriends to find that they had the same shocked looks. As confused as I was, it felt good to stand up for myself and show her who's boss. Sure I'd had to set some other people straight when it came to Edward, but never had I said something of that magnitude. Well, the bitch deserved it, hitting on my boyfriend.

My gaze flickered to Edward. He just stood unmoving, staring at me, lovingly.

"You amaze me, Bella." He whispered into my ear as the hostess directed us to where our friends and relatives sat. I wondered how she knew we were with them...

I just blushed and sank into the seat that Edward pulled out for me.

"Dude, Bella is bad ass!" Emmett exclaimed loudly, causing half of the restaurant to cast disapproving glances our way. My little outburst had only gained the attention of our table and the two surrounding it. Not really that many people had witnessed it, and I'd wanted it to stay that way, but leave it to Emmett to bring all the attention onto me. I just shook my head, and buried my face deep into the menu.

"What happened back there, Bells?" Alice inquired, sitting up straighter in her seat, patiently waiting for my explanation.

"Well, the skank was hitting on Edward, and you know how I get, so I put an end to it before she could make a bigger idiot of herself." I explained, setting my menu down onto the table, figuring I'd just order some mushroom ravioli since that was about the only thing that sounded edible on the list.

"Yeah, you do that all the time," Rosalie allowed. "But you never get that angry. I mean, your face was practically stained red from excursion. Why her?"

"Maybe she finally gave in to her crazy lady ways." Emmett piped into the conversation, nibbling on a breadstick that our waitress had brought out. I looked over at the waitress, eyeing to see if she was ogling Edward, and thankfully, she wasn't.

"Good evening, my name is Liz, and I'll be your waitress for tonight." She introduced herself. "May I ask what you guys would like to drink?"

Everyone's drink orders were pretty normal. Lemonade for us girls, and a Sprite for Edward and Jasper, but of course, Emmett had to be difficult.

"Yeah, I'll have a scotch, on the rocks." He declared, giving the waitress a little wink and leaning onto the back of his seat. She looked absolutely petrified; like she was going to pee her pants, as she took in the huge mound of muscle that is Emmett.

"M-May I see your ID?" She stammered, quickly switching her gaze onto the floor, afraid of his reaction.

"Nah, you can just make the drink and my Pops will come in and pay for it." He suggested, then leaned toward her and stage-whispered. "He's the chief of surgery over at Forks Hospital."

Her eyes went as big as golf balls. "I'm sorry, sir. It doesn't matter the occupational status of your father, if I serve alcohol to a miner, I would lose my job and go to jail."

Emmett opened his mouth to say something else, but Rose swiftly slapped him on the back of his head.

"Would you please stop harassing the waitress and order a damn drink!" She demanded, glaring daggers at her boyfriend. I'm glad she did that, I'm sure everyone was getting tired of Emmett holding us up with his stupid charade.

Emmett huffed and then pouted.

"Fine, I'll just have a coke."

The waitress nodded and wrote his order onto her little notepad, then all but sprinted toward the kitchen to put our drinks in.

"Emmett, you're an idiot." Jasper spoke for the first time.

"Eh," Emmett allowed. "But I'm an idiot that has fun."

I rolled my eyes.

I felt Edward slip his hand into mine, and laced our fingers together.

"Hey, Bella, you never answered my question." Rosalie proclaimed, casting a glance of impatience toward me.

"Which was?" I asked, not remembering what she had asked.

"Why'd you freakin' embarrass that girl in front of the whole restaurant, not that I'm complaining, but why her?" She said, making herself more clear.

Ah, that question.

"Honestly, I don't know, Rose. I guess I'm just tired of all these girls hitting on Edward, and she was the last straw. Plus, she was annoying and that made it even worse." I explained, staring at the napkin that was set out onto my plate. Edward gave my hand a squeeze. I shot a smile his way, and he returned it graciously.

"Yeah," Alice agreed. "She was eyeing Jasper when we first entered, and if I'm not mistaken, she was sending flirtatious smirks Emmett's way."

"Well, what can I say, you know the ladies can't resist Big E!" Emmett replied happily, devouring another breadstick; he was going through those things like candy.

"Oh really?" Rose scoffed. "And just what the hell does that mean?"

Emmett's eyes went wide, and he dropped the breadstick that he was currently finishing off onto the table. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. I didn't hesitate to poke fun at him, remembering all the times that he'd had his fun making me blush.

"What's wrong, Emmy?" I cooed. "Are you scared?"

He sent death glares toward me, and turned back toward Rosalie. One of her eyebrows was arched above her eyes, and she sat tapping her manicured nails against the table top. I could see the hint of a smirk on the corners of her mouth, and she shot me a wink.

"Rosie, baby, you know you're the only girl that can't resist me, the other ones pass over me like I'm scum on the side of the road. And even if the others couldn't resist me, I would let them because you know you're the only girl out there for me." He stated, stroking Rosalie's cheek.

What a load of crap.

"Aw!" Alice declared, leaning into Jasper's side.

Rosalie's eyes softened, and she leaned into Emmett and kissed him softly. How the big idiot manages to get her to forgive him every time is beyond me, but he does. I'd asked him about it once, and he'd replied, "Because no one can resist my charms," which was how I knew what he was saying was a load of cow manure. But, truthfully, Rosalie was the only person that could put up with Emmett's idiocy.

The waitress arrived with our drinks then, and distributed them accordingly.

"Alright, are you guys ready to order?" She asked somewhat hesitantly, and I guess it was because Emmett. I didn't blame her, he was too much to handle when you first meet him.

Thankfully, we ordered our meals without a hitch, thanks in large part to Rosalie distracting Emmett enough for him to not want to harass Liz.

"So what do you guys wanna do after graduation?" Jasper asked us, playing with Alice's hair.

"What if we went to LA?" Rose suggested, picking at her napkin.

"But, for what?" I asked, confused as to why she would choose that destination when we'd never dicussed going there before. We couldn't just take a road trip to LA without a valid reason; our parents wouldn't allow it.

"Well, I want to act, Alice wants to design, and you want to write, we can check out what they have to offer; or at least that's what we'll tell Mom and Dad. It can basically just be a vacation for all of us." She answered, looking up from her pieces of napkin.

That sounded...nice. Just a little getaway from all of the things here. It would take a lot of stress off of me; looking for colleges and all. We could just lay on the beach all day, basking in the sunshine that we never got in Forks. That actually sounded like a great idea.

"Excellent idea, Rose." Alice praised, smiling at her.

"Do you guys think you can convince your parents to let you go?" Rose asked the guys. We couldn't go to LA without them, it would be pointless and boring.

"HELL YEAH, WE WILL, ROSE!" Emmett exclaimed, causing us to cringe in irritation.

We just shook our heads.

"There's no way we'll let you guys go without us." Edward chimed in from my side. He'd been quiet for what felt like forever. Swiftly, I swooped in and pecked his cheek. He turned and shot me my favorite crooked smile. My heart fluttered, and I focused back to the conversation at hand.

"Then it's settled, we're going to LA for the summer!" Alice squealed, excited, I'm sure about the possibility to shop on Rodeo Drive.

Liz brought our food to the table then, and we each dug in, hungry from waiting. We made idle small talk while we ate, not really going into anything to big, not wanting to ruin the mood. We were all enjoying ourselves, making little jokes toward each other.

"Hey, Bella!" Emmett called toward me.

"Yeah?" I answered, looking up from my mushroom ravioli I'd been chomping on.

"Look, it's you!" He exclaimed, pointing to his plate. He'd ordered lasagna, and cut it out to resemble a face. The tomato sauce was smeared to be most of my face, with only the cheese being my eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Very funny, Em." I sarcasticly answered, picking up my fork, and stabbing his lasagna repeatedly. But in the midst of me stabbing his plate, I ended up flinging some sauce onto him, worsening the situation.

"Hey!" He whined. "You're gonna pay for that."

Picking up some cheese from his plate, Emmett proceeded to chunk it across the table, making sure it landed smack in the middle of my forehead. I shrieked, grabbing a napkin to get it off.

"Whoa, Emmett!" Edward warned, stealing a noodle from Rose's plate and throwing it at Emmett's head.

"Hey, nobody throws food at my man!" Rosalie exclaimed, throwing her lemonade at Edward. He spluttered, then smirked at Rose, grabbing his whole plate, and dumping it onto her perfectly straight hair.

"Oh, no you don't, Edward!" Alice piped, taking a handful of spaghetti and chunking it at Edward, who ducked at the last minute and it ended up landing on Emmett, who in turn 'accidently' spilled his water on her.

"Emmett." Jasper warned, and when Emmett turned to look at him, he shoved his plate into his face.

Thus commenced our public food war.

We'd each grabbed a handful of food and just started throwing it; the food landing in any spot available. We were all cackling nonstop as we were flinging food toward each other and shrieking whenever food came in contact with us. I couldn't remember having this much fun in a while, we'd have to do this more often.

Of course, our food fight didn't last very long, maybe 5 minutes tops, before the manager came out and swiftly asked us to leave, commenting on how our behavior showed, "lack of maturity" and that we were just a pack of, "troublesome teens". I scoffed, he didn't know the half of it.

We waltzed out of the restaurant, guffawing and chortling as loud as can be, all of us on a high from the adrenaline, we'd just felt.

"I haven't had that much fun in a _really_ long time." I stated once we'd calmed down a little.

They all agreed.

"Yeah, but I'd bet you have more fun riding the _disco stick_." Emmett mocked, sending everyone but me and Edward into another round of laughter. My face must have been burning, because when they all glanced at me, they'd just laugh again. I sighed, and shook my head.

"I've never figured it out, what is a _disco stick_?" Edward inquired, a confused look gracing his beautiful features.

"Edward, it's your -" Jasper started, but was shut up by Rosalie clamping a hand over his mouth. But, Edward was going to find out anyway. Because Alice was too short to reach Emmett's mouth, he leaned down toward Edward and whispered it into his ear. Edward's face went blank, and his jaw dropped.

"Emmett!" I screeched, stalking toward him.

He just stood there, a smirk upon his face as I continued to advance on him. Apparently, he didn't think I was seriously going to pounce on him, because he didn't move until I was ready to spring. Without warning, he took out running, trying to get away from me. Quickly, I swooped down, undid my shoes, threw them to Rose, and took off after him, chasing him all through the parking lot and through the restaurant we'd just got kicked out of. Well, one things for sure, we were never going back there.

* * *

**So, hope you liked the chapter. Honestly, it's one of my favorites. Just a little fluffy time from our favorite group of people.**

**Drop me a line, will ya? (Review!)**

**~ TTP**


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